Schedule 73. StuTS

While the persuasive nature of metaphors is well known, previous research has focused on the effect of the metaphor frame on reasoning. So far, the question of whether the speaker’s reliability influences the recipient’s reasoning has not been investigated in the context of metaphors. In two studies (N1 = 200; N2 = 499), the influence of metaphorical framing and speaker reliability on reasoning about a sociopolitical problem, namely crime, are examined. In the first study, a replication study, participants read a brief, metaphorically framed description of a city’s crime problem in which crime is referred to as either a beast or a virus. In the second study, the metaphorically framed descriptions are presented as statements by speakers associated with different degrees of reliability, namely a newscaster and a drunk, aggressive-looking person. In an open-end format, participants are asked to suggest ways to reduce crime. Previous studies have found an influence of the metaphor frame on participants’ responses, such that participants in the beast condition are more likely to favor suggestions for increased law enforcement and in the virus condition, to favor education, healthcare, and new reforms. However, the results of the present study indicate that the metaphorical effect is more subtle than previous studies have suggested and that political affiliation has a greater effect than the metaphorical frame. That is, Republicans overall are significantly more likely to consider enforcement-oriented approaches to be more effective. Moreover, the present results do not support the hypothesis that the influence of metaphors varies with speaker reliability. Instead, the results suggest that, unlike previous studies, the effectiveness of metaphors is influenced by a number of factors, some of which remain to be identified. These findings provide new insights into the effectiveness and use of metaphors.

Info

Day: 2023-05-28
Start time: 12:10
Duration: 00:30
Room: IG 0.254
Track: Applied Linguistics

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