Conceptual Priming In Sentence Production: Effects Of Concrete Pictures On Metaphorical Language

Abstract

A major challenge in language production research is understanding how messages are linguistically encoded, especially for abstract concepts. Using picture priming in a sentence production task, I demon.strate that activating a cognitive domain can trigger the use of domain-related (metaphorical) language for abstract concepts in sentences otherwise unrelated to the primes. The results show that specific concrete domains, activated by picture perception, frame the use of language for the abstract concepts. Control analyses argue against lexical or syntactic priming explanations for the effect. The findings indicate distinct and measurable effects of cross-domain priming due to domain activation, suggesting that conceptual metaphors are a cognitively real component of the language production mechanism. The results further suggest that concepts that are not part of the intended message but are accessible in a speaker’s current cognitive state can influence sentence formulation.