The development of metaphoric understanding.

Abstract

Two tasks were used to assess children's capacities to interpret metaphoric statements. Subjects ranging in age from 6 to 14 years were required either to explain a metaphoric sentence or to select one of four possible paraphrases. There was a developmental trend toward appropriate apprehension of metaphor. Several steps preceding mature comprehension were described: metonymic and primitivemetaphoric interpretations were frequent prior to the age of 10, and the youngest children sometimes interpreted metaphors as descriptions of magical situations. In general, cross-sensory metaphors proved easier to comprehend than psychological-physical metaphors. The results suggest certain cognitive prerequisites of mature metaphoric comprehension and help to clarify the ontogenetic relations among the abilities to produce, comprehend, and explicate the rationale of metaphoric language.