Distance makes the metaphor grow stronger: A psychological distance model of metaphor use

Current research demonstrates that people rely on metaphors in comprehending abstract concepts, but leaves the situational or dispositional determinants of metaphor use largely uninvestigated. Based on Construal Level Theory, we propose that metaphor use increases as the concept becomes psychologically removed from the immediate self, because distance causes it to be construed more abstractly. Two studies tested this psychological distance model of metaphor use. In Study 1, people opposed an open immigration policy when they were motivated to protect their bodies from physical contamination, but only when they imagined reporting their attitudes in a distant, rather than near, future. In Study 2, metaphorically representing a stock market as an autonomous agent led to predictions that it would achieve its “goals” by continuing to increase (decrease) in performance following a bullish (bearish) day. This metaphoric effect, however, only happened when the stock market was spatially distant, either objectively or subjectively.