Conceptual metaphors shape consumer psychology

Abstract

Marketers routinely use metaphors to compare abstract concepts to concrete concepts in remote domains. For example, a tagline "Supercharge your day" compares energy to electricity. Such messages aim to change consumer attitudes and behavior, but what impact do they have? According to Conceptual Metaphor Theory, metaphors can shape thought by borrowing knowledge of a concrete concept to understand and relate to an abstraction, despite their superficial differences. Supporting this claim is growing evidence that exposure to metaphoric messages prompts recipients to construe the metaphor's abstraction in ways that are analogous to the salient concrete concept. This article presents a selective review of this literature, focusing on studies pertaining to product evaluation and consumption attitudes. Discussion looks across findings to identify questions for future research. Taken as a whole, this research illuminates how, when, and for whom metaphoric messages are persuasive, with theoretical and practical implications for marketing, design, and persuasion. K E Y W O R D Sconsumer psychology, embodied cognition, marketing, message framing, metaphor, persuasion

Three sources of motivation

“…Recent findings by Touré-Tillery and Fishbach (2017) in the prosocial domain show that expectations of impact can also come from the metaphorical application of knowledge about physical impact (i.e., "impact increases with closeness") to the more abstract context of prosocial impact (see also, Landau, Zhong, & Swanson, 2018). The authors start with a simple fact: Holding force constant, a snowball thrown from 10 feet away will have a greater impact than one thrown from 50 feet away.…”

The role of mindsets, productions, and perceptual symbols in goal‐directed information processing

“…Metaphorical meanings can be perceptual symbols and consequently can account for the effects of grounded cognition noted earlier (for a review of metaphor effects, see Landau, Zhong, & Swanson, ). However, unlike Lakoff and Johnson's () conceptualization, the effects can be reciprocal.…”

The Effects of Linguistic Devices on Consumer Information Processing and Persuasion: A Language Complexity × Processing Mode Framework

“…Metaphors can be used for brand names (e.g., Arrid, to imply dryness), as well as slogans and other appeals (e.g., “Budweiser, the king of beers”). Numerous studies have investigated the effects of metaphors on persuasion across disciplines (e.g., linguistics, psychology, communication, business; for a review, see Landau, Zhong, & Swanson, ). The general conclusion is that metaphors produce an assimilation effect (positive effects for positive metaphors, negative effects for negative metaphors), and thus enhance persuasion, but these effects are dependent on a number of moderating conditions.…”

“…Metaphor Effective when comparison is novel, appears at beginning, and recipients familiar with topic Ang and Lim (2006), Kronrod and Danziger (2013), Landau et al (2018), McQuarrie and Mick (1999), Ottati et al (1999), Sopory and Dillard (2002) Influences expectations Influences source credibility, attitudes, perceptions Problematic when metaphor is not fully understood Analogy…”