Metaphor Comprehension in Children and Adults

Our Cognition Learning and Communities working group explores diverse areas of linguistic and conceptual development across various populations and contexts. One area of our interest is developmental pragmatics; we are currently running two projects in metaphor comprehension.

Project 1 draws on tasks that involve listening to stories and pointing at pictures to address three main questions. First, it aims to determine to what extent four-year-old children can understand metaphors based on a relational similarity (e.g., Sarah is a cactus). Second, it aims to examine factors contributing to variation in children’s metaphor abilities, considering the overall lexicon size, the knowledge of conventional metaphors, and the skills of verbal analogy. Last, by drawing on work that trains four-year-olds on how to explain verbal analogies, it aims to gauge the need for, and the effectiveness of, a potential intervention programme. Capitalizing on the fact that metaphors are only introduced into implicit teaching from the age of eight, and explicit teaching from the age of ten, our project holds the promise of showing whether children may benefit from earlier metaphor instruction that would facilitate their access to the primary curriculum.

Project 2 explores the potential of eye-tracking technologies to examine metaphor processing in monolingual adult speakers of English. Considering that eye-tracking technologies offer high precision for testing comprehension, we ask if there is a difference in the real-time processing of novel conceptual metaphors (i.e., those rooted in our embodied experience of the world, e.g., You’re a macaroon, i.e., sweet) and novel analogical metaphors (i.e., those that explore similarities between two concepts, e.g., Your hair is spaghetti, i.e., straight). We have completed data collection and analysis for the first study of the project and we are currently developing a follow-up study to shed light on the obtained results.

Project 1: The research assistant in place will be involved in data collection from 102 children aged 4;0-4;11 between mid-March and mid-July in primary schools and local libraries. However, she will require some support with participant recruitment. In addition, the obtained quantitative data will need to be curated, analysed and visualised through R by the end of August in time for a conference presentation in September 2025.

Project 2: We are currently at the stage of conceptualising a second eye-tracking study that will help us to shed light on the results obtained from the first one. We require support with task development, including the selection of metaphors, running familiarity and aptness tests via Qualtrics, embedding metaphors in stories and running basic statistical analyses to ensure that conceptual and analogical metaphors, and the stories in which they are embedded, are comparable.

Project 1: The student will benefit by developing knowledge of metaphor acquisition, skills for participant recruitment, as well as data curation and analysis using R. They will work as part of our team and contribute to co-authoring the conference presentation and the article(s).

Project 2: The student will benefit by developing knowledge of metaphor processing, skills for designing quantitative projects and experimental design. They will gain some understanding of the measures tested in eye-tracking research. They will work as part of our team and contribute to co- authoring an article. They will take on some lab management responsibilities and develop a basic manual for future students interested in running eye-tracking projects.

The intern will gain valuable experience in research design, academic writing, and eye-tracking methodologies. They will also receive training in statistical analysis and have dedicated time to develop their proficiency in R and R Studio. Additionally, they will join the Cognition, Learning, and Communities (CLC) Lab, where they will have the opportunity to present their own research, should they wish to do so. As a member of our research community, they will be fully integrated into the lab environment and have access to the same facilities and resources as current PhD students.

An interest in metaphor from a psycholinguistic perspective and experimental research. Good organisational skills. Excellent knowledge of all Microsoft applications, particularly Excel and Word.
Some knowledge of R for statistical analysis and visualisation.

As part of the two projects in which the intern will be involved, we anticipate multiple presentations. The selected intern will actively participate in co-presenting these findings.
Presentations will take place within our laboratory (Cognition, Learning, and Communities Lab), as well as in a formal setting within our center (Centre for Language, Discourse, and Communication).
Additionally, we will make efforts to submit this work to national and international conferences, where the intern will also have the opportunity to contribute. Furthermore, we expect to produce (at least) one publication per project. Accordingly, the intern will be included as a contributing author. Their primary responsibility will be drafting the methods and procedure sections, for which they will receive constructive feedback – an experience that will be beneficial for their own future publications.

1. Please send your CV and a brief cover letter outlining your interest and suitability to the project supervisor(s). Please contact the project supervisor(s) in advance of submitting the application with any questions.

2. If selected by the project supervisor, the student must then complete the Placement /Internship Application form. This ensures that there is approval of PhD supervisor, and the necessary information is obtained to extend funding (for DTP1 students) or confirm placement requirement fulfilled (for DTP2 students), and to fulfil ESRC reporting obligations.  

Please note:

• Research Assistant Internships must not be undertaken with the student’s current supervisor and/or home department.
• DTP1 students (those whose funding commenced before Oct24): a maximum of 4 Research Assistant internships will be funded. These will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the 4 DTP1 places are filled, we will inform PIs that only DTP2 students are eligible for the Research Assistant internships. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL DTP1 PLACES HAVE NOW BEEN FILLED.
• DTP2 students (those whose funding commenced from Oct24): are required to complete a 3-month placement, which is funded through their studentship. No limits to number that can be funded.
• Reports: at the conclusion of the internship, the student will be required to complete an internship report, which will include a question for the internship host to feedback on the internship.

Contact liss-dtp@kcl.ac.uk with any questions.