The influence of metaphors on cognition

Metaphors are some of the most complex linguistic and cognitive phenomena. They allow for representation of numerous abstract concepts in terms of other more familiar ones. Their complexity and abundance call for a close analysis of their role in cognition and their influence over thought processes. This study consisted of two experiments, one in English and one in Arabic. Both were designed to test whether switching one metaphor for another in a reading selection could have an impact on the comprehension outcome of the reading. The findings in this study do not support the presence of a significant difference between using either of the metaphors in the reading selection. This solicits further investigation into concurrent factors that influence cognition including contextual cues as well as culture.