TY - JOUR
T1 - When the Spatial and Ideological Collide
T2 - Metaphorical Conflict Shapes Social Perception
AU - Kleiman, Tali
AU - Stern, Chadly Daniel
AU - Trope, Yaacov
PY - 2016/3/1
Y1 - 2016/3/1
N2 - In the present article, we introduce the concept of metaphorical conflict—a conflict between the concrete and abstract aspects of a metaphor. We used the association between the concrete (spatial) and abstract (ideological) components of the political left-right metaphor to demonstrate that metaphorical conflict has marked implications for cognitive processing and social perception. Specifically, we showed that creating conflict between a spatial location and a metaphorically linked concept reduces perceived differences between the attitudes of partisans who are generally viewed as possessing fundamentally different worldviews (Democrats and Republicans). We further demonstrated that metaphorical conflict reduces perceived attitude differences by creating a mind-set in which categories are represented as possessing broader boundaries than when concepts are metaphorically compatible. These results suggest that metaphorical conflict shapes social perception by making members of distinct groups appear more similar than they are generally thought to be. These findings have important implications for research on conflict, embodied cognition, and social perception.
AB - In the present article, we introduce the concept of metaphorical conflict—a conflict between the concrete and abstract aspects of a metaphor. We used the association between the concrete (spatial) and abstract (ideological) components of the political left-right metaphor to demonstrate that metaphorical conflict has marked implications for cognitive processing and social perception. Specifically, we showed that creating conflict between a spatial location and a metaphorically linked concept reduces perceived differences between the attitudes of partisans who are generally viewed as possessing fundamentally different worldviews (Democrats and Republicans). We further demonstrated that metaphorical conflict reduces perceived attitude differences by creating a mind-set in which categories are represented as possessing broader boundaries than when concepts are metaphorically compatible. These results suggest that metaphorical conflict shapes social perception by making members of distinct groups appear more similar than they are generally thought to be. These findings have important implications for research on conflict, embodied cognition, and social perception.
KW - open data
KW - priming
KW - social cognition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960907977&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84960907977&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0956797615624029
DO - 10.1177/0956797615624029
M3 - Article
C2 - 26833756
AN - SCOPUS:84960907977
VL - 27
SP - 375
EP - 383
JO - Psychological Science
JF - Psychological Science
SN - 0956-7976
IS - 3
ER -