The Function of Metaphor in Children's Recall of Expository Passages

In a series of three studies, the facultative effect of metaphors on children's recall of expository passages was evaluated. In Experiment 1, with sixth grade subjects and an unfamiliar passage, metaphor target structures were recalled better than their literal paraphrases. In Experiment II, using third grade subjects and a more familiar passage, there were no differences between metaphor and literal versions of passage in terms of the recall of target structures. In Experiment III, which was designed to eliminate the passage familiarity × grade level × experiment confounding, there was a significant passage familiarity by version (metaphor or literal) interaction. Metaphors facilitated target structure recall only for unfamiliar passages. These data were interpreted as supporting the view that metaphors can serve the function of bridging new and old information in unfamiliar textual settings.

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