Developmental Relationships Between Psychological Metaphors and Concepts of Life and Consciousness

Bibliographic Data

ID19429286
AuthorsBarbara Schecter, John Broughton
Year1991
Volume6
Issue2
Pages119-143
Publication date1991-06-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMetaphor and Symbolic Activity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0885-7253 • E-ISSN: 2379-0288
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1207/s15327868ms0602_4
OpenAlexW2060189305
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited15

This study relates children's explications of psychological metaphors to their concepts of life and consciousness. Psychological metaphors refer to descriptions of people, such as "hard" and "soft" or "hard-headed" and "soft-hearted." The perspective guiding this study is that both specific content knowledge of relevant conceptual domains and metalinguistic ability are components of an explication of these types of metaphors. Semi-structured interviews were developed to tap children's understanding in these domains. These interviews were administered to 35 children, with 7 children in each of five groups: 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, and 14-year-olds. In addition, a longitudinal study of 13 children from similar age ranges was conducted over a 3-year period using the same instruments. Levels of development were identified for metaphor, concepts of life, and consciousness. Developments in the three domains were found to occur together. Children at lower levels in one domain tended to be at lower levels in the other domains. Possible interpretations for these findings axe discussed in terms of the relationship between conceptual development and metalinguistic activity

Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Concept learning · Conceptual metaphor · Consciousness · Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Explication · Linguistics · Metaphor · Child and Animal Learning Development · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Psychology · Values and Moral Education

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