Visual narratives, like comics, at times show depictions of characters’ imagination, dreams, or flashbacks, which seem incongruent with the ongoing primary narrative. Such “domain constructions” thus integrate an auxiliary domain (e.g. a dream) within the primary domain (the expected, physical storyworld), and may require readers to resolve seemingly non-co-referential figures as co-referential (e.g. when a character’s dream shows that character as an animal). In three self-paced reading experiments, we investigate the processing and understanding of single vs. multiple domains in sequences (...) with co-reference issues (Exp. 1) and whether graphic cues facilitate such domain switches (Exp. 2 and 3). Domain switches incurred greater updating costs but were comprehensible, with greater similarity across panels predicting faster processing, and comic reading experience affecting viewing times. The successful integration of fantasized agents which seem to lack co-reference implies that visual narrative comprehension goes beyond event and scene perception alone, but also involves proficiency in conventional constructions related to perspective-taking and inferencing. (shrink)

Idioms are the unity of figurative and formulaic expressions, driving a variety of creative variants used in everyday life. This study explored how Chinese readers made sense of Chinese idioms and their variants, with possible constraints from their strength in overall inhibitory control (OIC). Our new attempt at a comprehensive measure of inhibitory control managed to predict the readers’ self-paced reading behavior in the context of the idioms written in the Chinese ideographic script. Those with poorer OIC were assumed to (...) show more difficulties in inhibiting the literal meaning of a Chinese idiom as the supportive context unfolded. Such constraints from OIC also resurfaced during the comprehension of the Chinese variants employed in this study that were likely treated as novel idioms. We thereby assumed a hybrid route for the comprehension of Chinese idiomatic expressions. Nonetheless, idiom familiarity or decomposability exerted limited influence during these processes. The current study enriches the individual-difference approach to idiom comprehension by further expounding how its account varies with an ideographic writing system characterized by symbolic glyphs. (shrink)

Uncontrolled wildfires present ever-increasing risks. To respond effectively, we must communicate clearly and compellingly. This is where the scientific study of metaphor can help. Metaphor is the use of one domain to describe or think about another, a process that is often crucial for understanding phenomena that are unusually large, abstract, or complex – phenomena such as wildfires. Here, we describe two metaphorical framings that are widespread in wildfire communication: wildfire as an intentional, hungry beast; and wildfire as an enemy (...) to defeat in war. We then explore how each metaphor makes certain approaches to wildfire management seem natural, while simultaneously making it difficult to understand or appreciate others. Metaphor thus offers an integrated framework for thinking and communicating about wildfire management on multiple scales. (shrink)

The use of metaphor and metonymy in social awareness campaigns has been shown as an effective strategy to evoke emotional reactions in the audience and influence behavior change. Using authentic campaign discourse, this study investigated how two multimodal, figurative representations of plastic pollution (plastic pollution is war on nature and plastic pollution is usurpation of marine life) influenced participants’ responses to solutions-oriented and emotions-oriented measures. The data were gathered from two online surveys: Experiment 1 used Likert-scales and free-text responses; these (...) were analyzed using statistical techniques and semantic frame analysis. Experiment 2 was a shorter follow-up study which used Likert-scales. The results suggest that the war frame inspired more negative emotional reactions overall, whereas the usurpation frame inspired more positive emotions. We also find that political orientation significantly moderates people’s sense of empowerment to tackle plastic pollution. The results have implications for future experimental studies seeking to explore the interaction of positive and negative affective states in the context of ecological issues, and for designers of campaigns who seek to use metaphor and metonymy to evoke the desired emotional and behavioral responses. (shrink)

Idioms are the unity of figurative and formulaic expressions, driving a variety of creative variants used in everyday life. This study explored how Chinese readers made sense of Chinese idioms and their variants, with possible constraints from their strength in overall inhibitory control (OIC). Our new attempt at a comprehensive measure of inhibitory control managed to predict the readers’ self-paced reading behavior in the context of the idioms written in the Chinese ideographic script. Those with poorer OIC were assumed to (...) show more difficulties in inhibiting the literal meaning of a Chinese idiom as the supportive context unfolded. Such constraints from OIC also resurfaced during the comprehension of the Chinese variants employed in this study that were likely treated as novel idioms. We thereby assumed a hybrid route for the comprehension of Chinese idiomatic expressions. Nonetheless, idiom familiarity or decomposability exerted limited influence during these processes. The current study enriches the individual-difference approach to idiom comprehension by further expounding how its account varies with an ideographic writing system characterized by symbolic glyphs. (shrink)

Conceptual metaphors crucially shape how people understand and represent abstract concepts like love. Numerous Chinese linguistic metaphors associate love (beginning/continuing a romantic relationship) with red (e.g. 红豆相思) and lovelorn (breakup/end of a romantic relationship) with gray (e.g. 万念俱灰). However, empirical evidence supporting these color metaphors for love concepts is lacking. This study investigated the red-gray color metaphor for love concepts in Chinese. Experiment 1 used a Stroop test where participants categorized love/lovelorn words in red/gray fonts. Results showed significantly faster latencies (...) for love words in red versus gray fonts, but no difference for lovelorn words. Experiment 2 used an implicit association test (IAT), where the compatible block paired red squares with love words and gray squares with lovelorn words, and vice versa in the incompatible block. Results showed that participants implicitly associated love words with red colors and lovelorn words with gray colors. Together, these experiments provide novel empirical evidence that native Chinese speakers activate metaphorical red-gray color mappings for love concepts, contributing insights into how abstract love concepts are grounded in embodied experiences. Future research could explore color-love metaphors across cultures, paradigms, and gender-balanced samples. (shrink)