Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ph5wq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T19:16:52.228Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Mental imagery of concrete proverbs: A developmental study of children, adolescents, and adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2008

JILL K. DUTHIE*
Affiliation:
University of the Pacific
MARILYN A. NIPPOLD
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
JESSE L. BILLOW
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
TRACY C. MANSFIELD
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Jill K. Duthie, Department of Speech–Language Pathology, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 95211. E-mail: jduthie@pacific.edu

Abstract

The development of mental imagery in relation to the comprehension of concrete proverbs (e.g., one rotten apple spoils the barrel) was examined in children, adolescents, and adults who were ages 11 to 29 years old (n = 210). The findings indicated that age-related changes occurred in mental imagery and in proverb comprehension during the years between late childhood and early adulthood, and that the two domains were associated in children and adults but not in adolescents. Children and adults were more likely to describe relevant mental imagery (age 11: “A big barrel of apples and a woman picks up one that is rotten and there are worms in it and the worms go to all the other apples”) when they also comprehended the proverb on a multiple-choice task. It was also found that participants' mental images became more metaphorical in relation to increasing age (age 21: “One bad comment can spoil the entire conversation”). The findings are consistent with dual coding theory, the view that nonverbal information (relevant visual imagery) in addition to verbal information (related words and phrases) supports language comprehension in the case of concrete meanings. The results also support the view that mental imagery reflects figurative understanding and the individual's tacit awareness of underlying metaphorical concepts.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Billow, R. M. (1975). A cognitive developmental study of metaphor comprehension. Developmental Psychology, 11, 415423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bortfeld, H. (2002). What native and non-native speakers’ images for idioms tell us about figurative language. In Heredia, R. R. & Altarriba, J. (Eds.), Bilingual sentence processing (pp. 275295). Amsterdam: Elsevier.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brasseur, J., & Jimenez, B. C. (1989). Performance of university students on the Fullerton subtest of idioms. Journal of Communication Disorders, 22, 351359.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, J. (1969). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Douglas, J. D., & Peel, B. (1979). The development of metaphor and proverb translation in children grades 1 through 7. Journal of Educational Research, 73, 116119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson, R. (1983). The Penguin dictionary of proverbs. London: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Gibbs, R. W. (1987). Linguistic factors in children's understanding of idioms. Journal of Child Language, 14, 569586.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibbs, R. W. (1991). Semantic analyzability in children's understanding of idioms. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 34, 613620.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibbs, R. W. (1994). The poetics of mind: Figurative thought, language and understanding. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gibbs, R. W., & O'Brien, J. (1990). Idioms and mental imagery: The metaphorical motivation for idiomatic meaning. Cognition, 36, 3568.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibbs, R. W., Strom, L. K., & Spivey-Knowlton, M. J. (1997). Conceptual metaphors in mental imagery for proverbs. Journal of Mental Imagery, 21, 83110.Google Scholar
Higbee, K. L., & Millard, R. J. (1983). Visual imagery and familiarity ratings for 203 sayings. American Journal of Psychology, 96, 211222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ibanez, J. G. (2002). Using proverbs in chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 79, 454455.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katz, A. N. (1999). Book review: Proverb in mind: The cognitive science of proverbial wit and wisdom. Metaphor and Symbol, 14, 7175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
L'Estrange, R. (Trans.). (1906). Everyman's library children's classics [Trans. from the original Greek, Aesop fables]. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.Google Scholar
Meline, T., & Paradiso, T. (2003). Evidence-based practice in schools: Evaluating research and reducing barriers. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 34, 273283.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meline, T., & Schmitt, J. F. (1997). Case studies for evaluating significance in group designs. American Journal of Speech–Language Pathology, 6, 3341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mieder, W. (1993). Proverbs are never out of season: Popular wisdom in the modern age. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Mieder, W., Kingsbury, S. A., & Harder, K. B. (Eds.). (1992). A dictionary of American proverbs. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nippold, M. A. (2007). Later language development: School-age children, adolescents, and young adults (3rd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Nippold, M. A., Allen, M. M., & Kirsch, D. I. (2000). How adolescents comprehend unfamiliar proverbs: The role of top-down and bottom-up processes. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 43, 621630.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nippold, M. A., Allen, M. M., & Kirsch, D. I. (2001). Proverb comprehension as a function of reading proficiency in preadolescents. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 32, 90100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nippold, M. A., & Duthie, J. K. (2003). Mental imagery and idiom comprehension: A comparison of school-age children and adults. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 46, 788799.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nippold, M. A., & Haq, F. S. (1996). Proverb comprehension in youth: The role of concreteness and familiarity. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39, 166176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nippold, M. A., Hegel, S. L., Uhden, L. D., & Bustamante, S. (1998). Development of proverb comprehension in adolescents: Implications for instruction. Journal of Children's Communication Development, 19, 4955.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nippold, M. A., & Martin, S. T. (1989). Idiom interpretation in isolation versus context: A developmental study with adolescents. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 32, 5966.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nippold, M. A., Martin, S. A., & Erskine, B. J. (1988). Proverb comprehension in context: A developmental study with children and adolescents. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 31, 1928.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nippold, M. A., Moran, C., & Schwarz, I. E. (2001). Proverb comprehension in New Zealand and American youth: A cross-cultural comparison. New Zealand Journal of Speech–Language Therapy, 55, 1421.Google Scholar
Nippold, M. A., & Rudzinski, M. (1993). Familiarity and transparency in idiom explanation: A developmental study of children and adolescents. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 36, 728737.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nippold, M. A., & Taylor, C. L. (1995). Idiom understanding in youth: Further examination of familiarity and transparency. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38, 426433.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nippold, M. A., Taylor, C. L., & Baker, J. M. (1996). Idiom understanding in Australian youth: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39, 442447.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nippold, M. A., Uhden, L. D., & Schwarz, I. E. (1997). Proverb explanation through the lifespan: A developmental study of adolescents and adults. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 40, 245253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Obens, S. G. (1996). The proverb as a mitigating and politeness strategy in Akan discourse. Anthropological Linguistics, 38, 521546.Google Scholar
Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and verbal processes. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.Google Scholar
Paivio, A. (1986). Mental representations: A dual coding approach. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Paivio, A. (1991). Dual coding theory: Retrospect and current status. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 45, 255287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paivio, A., & Walsh, M. (1993). Psychological processes in metaphor comprehension and memory. In Ortony, A. (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (2nd ed., pp. 307328). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Power, R., Taylor, C. L., & Nippold, M. A. (2001). Comprehending literally-true versus literally-false proverbs. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 17, 118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Resnick, D. (1982). A developmental study of proverb comprehension. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 11, 521538.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richardson, C., & Church, J. (1959). A developmental analysis of proverb interpretations. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 94, 169179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ridout, R., & Witting, C. (1967). English proverbs explained. London: Pan Books.Google Scholar
Sadoski, M. (2005). A dual coding view of vocabulary learning. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 21, 221238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sadoski, M., Kealy, W. A., Goetz, E. T., & Paivio, A. (1997). Concreteness and imagery effects in the written composition of definitions. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 518526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sadoski, M., & Paivio, A. (2001). Imagery and text: A dual coding theory of reading and writing. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Simpson, J. A. (1982). The concise Oxford dictionary of proverbs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Strand, K. E., & Fraser, B. (1979). The comprehension of verbal idioms by young children. Unpublished manuscript, Boston University, School of Education.Google Scholar
Whiting, B. J. (1932). The nature of the proverb. In Harris, J. (Ed.), When evensong and morrowsong accord. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar