The effect of metaphor on processing style in a persuasion task: A motivational resonance model.

Previous research on metaphor and persuasion has suggested that metaphorical language elicits an assimilation effect wherein positive metaphors elicit positive attitudes toward the communication topic and negative metaphors elicit negative evaluations. The authors of this article propose that metaphorical content can increase or decrease motivation to systematically scrutinize a persuasive communication depending on the extent to which it "resonates " with the listener's preferences and interests. Consistent with this model, 2 experiments demonstrate that a sports metaphor increases message-relevant elabora-tion and sensitivity to argument strength among individuals who enjoy sports. Conversely, the sports metaphor reduces message-relevant elaboration and sensitivity to argument strength among individuals who dislike sports. Findings are discussed in the context of related research that suggests metaphor can serve alternative functions in a persuasive communication task. The use of metaphor is pervasive in both mass communication and everyday linguistic exchanges (Gibbs, 1994; Lakoff, 1987; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). Popular music tells us that love is a "rose, " a "dance, " a "battlefield, " or a putrid object ("love stinks"). In the most recent presidential campaign, Bill Clinton sought to "build a bridge " to the twenty-first century, Jack Kemp "scored a foucrfa6wn"m trie vice-presidentiafde6ate, ancff?o6 Dofe served" as the "quarterback " of the Republican ticket. The communicative functions of metaphorical language are numerous. Metaphors can furnish vivid and evocative images, convey multiple meanings in a concise fashion, or express that which cannot be stated in literal terms (Graesser, Mio, & Millis, 1989). Yet, studies that focus on the persuasive impact of metaphor rarely appear in the empirical