Shaping Time: Conceptualizations of Time through Shape Metaphors

Shaping Time: Conceptualizations of Time through Shape Metaphors Evangelia G. Chrysikou (lila@temple.edu) Department of Psychology, Temple University 1701 N. 13 th St., Weiss Hall 6 th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19122-6085 USA Christopher H. Ramey (cramey@flsouthern.edu) Department of Psychology, Florida Southern College 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801 USA Abstract Previous research has shown that people represent the abstract concept of time by constructing metaphoric mappings from the more concrete domain of space. Earlier studies have revealed that different spatial metaphorical mapping systems are employed when people think about time (e.g., front/back, ego-moving/time-moving). However, it is possible that the abstract concept of time is also represented by means of shape metaphors. Two experiments investigated this possibility. The results extend previous findings and suggest that the use of shape metaphors in language influences participants’ representations of the abstract concept of time. Keywords: conceptual metaphors; time metaphors; language and thought; embodiment. Spatial Metaphors and the Concept of Time Recent research on the acquisition of abstract concepts has shown that people construct such concepts through metaphorical mappings from domains grounded in the individual’s experience (Boroditsky, 2000; Gentner, 2001; Gentner & Grudin, 1985; Pecher & Zwaan, 2005; see also, Barsalou & Weimer-Hastings, 2005; Glenberg & Kaschak, 2002; Whitrow, 1972). A series of studies on the perception of the abstract domain of time has shown that the concept of time acquires its structure through metaphorical mappings in language from the domain of space. Gentner and Imai (1992), for example, investigated the psychological status of two putatively critical space → time metaphorical mapping systems, namely the ego-moving metaphor and the time- moving metaphor (see Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). In the first system the observer is perceived to move through time toward the future. In contrast, in the second system time is conceived as an array of events that the observer witnesses moving from the future to the past. Gentner and Imai explored the different aspects of spatial (e.g., front/back) metaphors that people employ to represent time within the two systems. Their experiments confirmed the psychological reality of these metaphors and suggested that spatial metaphoric language may provide a platform for situating the abstract concept of time. In accordance with these findings, Boroditsky (2001) provided evidence that differences in space → time metaphors between different languages (e.g., the future lies ahead of us, we left the bad times behind us) reflect differences in the perception of time that depend on the type of language used. Specifically, English speakers conceive time as placed on a horizontal axis, whereas Mandarin speakers conceive time as placed on a vertical axis, a distinction that is evident in the words that members of each of the two linguistic communities use to talk about time concepts. Furthermore, Gentner, Imai, and Boroditsky (2002) found that, consistent with the ego-moving versus time-moving metaphor distinction, people employ these two metaphors when making judgments about time, both in experimental and naturalistic settings (e.g., a busy airport). Boroditsky and Ramscar (2002; see also Matlock, Ramscar, & Boroditsky, 2005) extended those findings by showing that people’s experience of space may alter the time metaphor that they employ and subsequently influence their judgments about abstract time questions. For instance, if people were waiting in a lunch line for several minutes (and, thus, moving through space toward a destination), they were more likely to employ the ego-moving time metaphor. When subsequently asked the ambiguous question “Next Wednesday’s meeting has been moved forward two days. What day is the meeting now that it has been rescheduled? ” they were more likely to say that the meeting had been moved to Friday than Monday. Conversely, people who were waiting for someone to arrive at the airport (and, thus, were standing still in space while someone was moving toward them) were more likely to employ the time-moving metaphor and respond Monday to the same question. So far, research on the acquisition of the abstract concept of time has focused on the differences in representation dependent on the activation of either the ego-moving or the time-moving metaphorical mapping systems. If, as the earlier studies suggest, the hypothesis holds true that the abstract domain of time draws upon the more concrete domain of space, it could be the case that other types of visuo-spatial metaphorical systems that are situated in the individual’s experience are involved in the representation of the abstract domain of time. Specifically, the present paper offers the possibility that certain aspects of the concept of time may be represented through shape metaphors. In particular, two experiments aimed to investigate whether the use of metaphorical language that employs shape-related