title: Familiarity and Aptness in Metaphor Comprehension.
abstract: The career of metaphor hypothesis suggests that novel metaphors are understood through a search for shared features between the topic and vehicle, but with repeated exposure, the figurative meaning is understood directly as a new category is established. The categorization hypothesis argues that instead good or apt metaphors are understood through a categorization process, whether or not they are familiar. Only poor metaphors ever invoke a literal comparison. In Experiment 1, with aptness equated, we found that high familiarity speeded comprehension time over low-familiarity metaphors. In Experiment 2a, providing a literal prime failed to facilitate interpretation of low-familiarity metaphors, contrary to the career of metaphor hypothesis. In Experiment 2b, with familiarity equated, high- and low-aptness metaphors did not differ, contrary to the categorization hypothesis.
authors.forename: Alison Whiteford
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Damerall
authors.forename: Ronald T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Kellogg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D019365:Metaphor; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult