Tests of Conceptual Metaphor Theory with Episodic Memory Tests

Abstract

Adopting Lakoff’s (1990) “cognitive commitment”, we make the argument that an under-employed means of testing tenets of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (cmt), and in bridging the gap between studies in cognitive linguistics and experimental cognitive psychology can be through the use of episodic memory tests. We provide examples of the utility of episodic memory for studying cmt, emphasizing the use of the drm False Memory Paradigm. We then describe its utility with other tasks, most notably with Release from Proactive Interference methodology. Although these tasks are based on episodic memory, they are heavily influenced by semantic information, making them useful tools to examine conceptual metaphors. We conclude by describing how episodic memory tasks could be employed to test the automaticity assumption of cmt.