Abstract
Three studies used a forced-choice recognition task to compare memory for metaphorical and nonmetaphorical sentences expressing the same idea. Materials were quotations from Shakespeare and adaptations thereof. Results, using both sentence lists and play synopses with quoted excerpts, found that metaphors were correctly recognized more frequently than nonmetaphors and that false alarms tended in a more, rather than less, metaphorical direction. This finding differed both from a naive theory, predicting metaphors to be more difficult, and from results of studies of nonliterary metaphors finding no metaphor-nonmetaphor differences.
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This research was supported by Grant MH 28493-01 from NIMH and a grant from the Kansas State University Bureau of General Research. Appreciation is expressed to Virginia Dicks, Pat Martin, and Don Miller for data collection and to Gregory Monaco for his helpful comments on the manuscript.
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Harris, R.J. Memory for literary metaphors. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 13, 246–249 (1979). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335072
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335072