Interpretación y reinterpretación de adivinanzas metafóricas: la importancia del nivel de desarrollo y del tipo de tarea en niños de 7 a 13 años

Abstract

This article aims to examine the interpretation and reinterpretation or popular metaphorical riddles. Forty children were interviewed: 10 second graders; 10 fourth graders and 10 sixth graders; as well as 10 eighth graders. All participants were monolingual Spanish speakers from a private school in the city of Queretaro. The participants were presented with 15 popular metaphorical riddles. In the first task (without options); the students had to answer the riddles spontaneously. In the second task (with options); students had to choose one of three possible answers. Results show that a) the second type of task (with options) improved the understanding of metaphors and riddles and b) there was a developmental pattern in the way children understood the metaphorical riddles.