Implicit learning of mappings between forms and metaphorical meanings

• Published in: Consciousness and cognition Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 174 - 183
• Main Authors: Li, Fengying, Guo, Xiuyan, Zhu, Lei, Yang, Zhiliang, Dienes, Zoltan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.03.2013; Elsevier; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Awareness; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition & reasoning; Consciousness; Female; Form-meaning connections; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Humans; Implicit learning; Language; Learning; Learning. Memory; Literal meaning; Male; Metaphor; Metaphorical meaning; Miscellaneous; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Semantics; Structural knowledge; Transfer (Psychology); Young Adult; Structural knowledge; Implicit learning; Metaphorical meaning; Form-meaning connections; Literal meaning; Human; Cognition; Experimental study; Knowledge; Metaphor; Acquisition process; Language; Semantics
• ISSN: 1053-8100; 1090-2376
• DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.11.011

► People can implicitly acquire mappings between form and meaning. ► There was transfer of form-meaning connections from a concrete domain (height) to an abstract one (power). ► Metaphor-consistent transfer was achieved without awareness. Previous research has shown that people can implicitly acquire mappings between word forms and literal meanings (Williams, 2004, 2005). We argue, from the metaphor-representation and embodiment perspectives, that people can unconsciously establish mappings between word forms and not only literal but also metaphorical meanings. Using Williams’ (2005) paradigm, we found that transfer of form-meaning connections from a concrete domain (space) to an abstract domain (power) was achieved in a metaphor-consistent way without awareness. Our results support the view that unconscious knowledge can be flexibly deployed in an abstract way not previously explored in the implicit learning literature.