Originally published in 1980, this is a book about the psychology of figurative language. It is however, eclectic and therefore should be of interest to professionals and students in education, linguistics, philosophy, sociolinguistics, and other concerned with meaning and cognition.

Richard P. Honeck, Robert R. Hoffman

Preface. Part 1: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives 1. A Peacock Looks at its Legs: Cognitive Science and Figurative Language Robert R. Hoffman and Richard P. Honeck 2. Historical Notes on Figurative Language Richard P. Honeck 3. A Philosophical Perspective on the Problems of Metaphor Mark Johnson 4. Some Psycholinguistic Aspects of Metaphor Andrew Ortony Part 2: Processing and Representation 5. Transformations in Knowing: A Realist View of Metaphor Robert R. Verbrugge 6. Proverbs, Meaning, and Group Structure Richard P. Honeck, Katherine Voegtle, Mark A. Dorfmueller and Robert R. Hoffman 7. Metaphors and Images: Rating, Reporting, and Remembering Richard J. Harris, Mary Anne Lahey and Faith Marsalek 8. Mental Imagery and the Comprehension of Figurative Language: Is there a Relationship? Paul F. Riechmann and Ellen L. Coste Part 3: Foundations in Semantic Theory 9. The Cognitive Dynamics of Synesthesia and Metaphor Charles E. Osgood 10. Measurement of Figurative Language: Semantic Feature Models of Comprehension and Appreciation Robert G. Malgady and Michael G. Johnson 11. Toward a Perceptual Theory of Metaphoric Comprehension Michael G. Johnson and Robert G. Malgady 12. Topic-Vehicle Relations in Metaphor: The Issue of Assymetry Part 4: Developmental Aspects 13. The Developmental Structure of Figurative Competence Marilyn R. Pollio and James D. Pickens 14. The Ontogenesis of Metaphor Ellen Winner, Margaret McCarthy and Howard Gardner Part 5: Problem Solving 15. Metaphoric Competence and Complex Human Problem Solving Howard R. Pollio and Michael K. Smith 16. Metaphor in Science Robert R. Hoffman. Author Index. Subject Index.