The Cognitive Impact of Figurative Language - Deepstash
The Cognitive Impact of Figurative Language

The Cognitive Impact of Figurative Language

In the past 40 years, research has shown that figurative language is not just poetic or fanciful, it actually shapes our thoughts and speech patterns.

  • Love is a 'journey'
  • truth is something that is 'seen clearly'
  • extroverted people are described as 'lighting up the room' - which all activate the same brain regions as the actual experiences.

Our body plays a key role in how we understand abstract ideas. The same part of our brain that perceives light is used to imagine a person as 'bright'.

In essence, our thoughts are using our body's operations to make sense of the world.

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yuyutsu

Content Curator | Absurdist | Amateur Gamer | Failed musician | Successful pessimist | Pianist |

Some friends are ‘close’– others are ‘distant’. But our spatial descriptions of social life are more than just metaphors.

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