Six experiments investigating the relationship of familiarity and context to the processing of metaphor are presented. Experiment 1 compares time to understand sets containing idiom or metaphor targets following 1-2 sentence contexts in four conditions: NONLITERAL, where the context was completed by an idiom or metaphor, PARAPHRASE, where the same context was completed by a literal target with the same meaning, SURPRISE, where the context was completed by a less-anticipated literal target, and LITERAL, where the target from the NONLITERAL condition was used in its literal sense in a different context. In Experiment 2, sets of dead metaphors replaced the idiom sets, and the metaphor sets had novel metaphors. Experiment 3 matched the targets in each condition for overall printed word frequency, to investigate whether word familiarity was interacting with type of usage. It also included an UNFAMILIAR condition, where the same context was completed by a much less familiar word used literally. Experiment 4 took 20 contexts from Experiment 3 and asked subjects to generate their own endings. Experiment 5 replicated Experiment 3 but with a two-target semantic choice instead of a single response. Experiment 6 shortened contexts and reduced their information content. Its purpose was to see how much context was contributing to understanding, and whether some conditions would be more affected than others. The results may be interpreted as indicating that familiarity with the use of a word is important in determining speed of understanding. Dead metaphors could be understood just as quickly as words used literally, but novel metaphors took longer. Contextual expectations are also a powerful adjunct to the understanding process. When expectations are thwarted, errors and understanding time increases. Metaphor understanding is interpreted as a class-inclusion process in the manner described by Glucksberg and Keysar (1990), where a word used metaphorically is viewed as a prototypical exemplar of a hierarchically superordinate class that becomes extended to incorporate the context topic. This process takes time, but metaphors have a response latency advantage over surprising or unfamiliar literal words encountered in context. When context is reduced, metaphors are still advantageous in terms of time, but are less useful to depth of understanding.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Psychology Department, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Psychology Dept., 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation (Ph.D. in Computer Science)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2009. / Dissertation supervisor: Singh, Gurminder. "June 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on July 14, 2009. Author(s) subject terms: mobile computing, context awareness, activities as context. Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-117). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Six experiments investigating the relationship of familiarity and context to the processing of metaphor are presented. Experiment 1 compares time to understand sets containing idiom or metaphor targets following 1-2 sentence contexts in four conditions: NONLITERAL, where the context was completed by an idiom or metaphor, PARAPHRASE, where the same context was completed by a literal target with the same meaning, SURPRISE, where the context was completed by a less-anticipated literal target, and LITERAL, where the target from the NONLITERAL condition was used in its literal sense in a different context. In Experiment 2, sets of dead metaphors replaced the idiom sets, and the metaphor sets had novel metaphors. Experiment 3 matched the targets in each condition for overall printed word frequency, to investigate whether word familiarity was interacting with type of usage. It also included an UNFAMILIAR condition, where the same context was completed by a much less familiar word used literally. Experiment 4 took 20 contexts from Experiment 3 and asked subjects to generate their own endings. Experiment 5 replicated Experiment 3 but with a two-target semantic choice instead of a single response. Experiment 6 shortened contexts and reduced their information content. Its purpose was to see how much context was contributing to understanding, and whether some conditions would be more affected than others. The results may be interpreted as indicating that familiarity with the use of a word is important in determining speed of understanding. Dead metaphors could be understood just as quickly as words used literally, but novel metaphors took longer. Contextual expectations are also a powerful adjunct to the understanding process. When expectations are thwarted, errors and understanding time increases. Metaphor understanding is interpreted as a class-inclusion process in the manner described by Glucksberg and Keysar (1990), where a word used metaphorically is viewed as a prototypical exemplar of a hierarchically superordinate class that becomes extended to incorporate the context topic. This process takes time, but metaphors have a response latency advantage over surprising or unfamiliar literal words encountered in context. When context is reduced, metaphors are still advantageous in terms of time, but are less useful to depth of understanding. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

This dissertation focuses on contextual frames that influence how consumers perceive prices and how that in turn affects their product evaluations and consumption decisions. This research consists of three essays and attempts to further the understanding of contextual factors that affect how consumers perceive prices (essay 1) and how perceptions about prices influence product inferences (essay 2) and decision making (essay 3). While there is a substantial body of research on price framing and price perception, my research identifies and attempts to fill some important gaps in the existing research. In my first essay, I introduce a new price framing effect – the upper limit framing effect. This essay shows that framing the upper limit of a price estimate as less than vs. not more than can result in systematic differences in perceptions regarding the underlying price. This research contributes to the existing price framing research, which primarily focuses on set prices, by investigating price estimates. It also makes important contributions to the temporal and monetary costs and semantic framing literatures and to the literature on negations. In my second essay, I contribute to the existing perceived price-quality research that primarily concerns only the market prices. This essay shows that consumers over-apply the perceived price-quality heuristic when setting product prices by themselves (self-decided prices). Specifically, this research shows that contextual factors that affect self-decided prices in turn influence product inferences, with the relationship between contextual frame and product inferences being mediated by self-decided prices. In my third essay, I contribute to the existing price framing research by showing that in the context of multiple price presentation, the price presentation order (ascending vs. descending) affects the perceived importance of price in the decision making – an effect I term as the price order effect – an effect that is explained by prospect-theory driven loss aversion. Specifically, this research shows that descending (vs. ascending) price presentation order results in significantly lower perceived importance of price in the decision making process which in turn influences subsequent consumption decisions. In addition to the individual contributions of each essay, this dissertation makes an overall contribution to the price framing and price perception research by identifying new price framing effects and by furthering the understanding of how consumers perceive prices and how perceptions about price influences consumer decision making. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation shows how different contexts can influence consumers’ perceptions about product prices. Utilizing a variety of everyday consumption products and scenarios, we show new and interesting ways in which seemingly unrelated contexts and frames can influence price perceptions. Specifically, we show that novel contexts and frames can affect (a) how consumers perceive price magnitude (essay 1), (b) how perceptions about prices influences product inferences (essay 2), and (c) how important a factor is price perceived to be in the decision making process (essay 3). Essay 1 shows that framing the upper limit of a cost estimate as (“less than” vs. “not more than”) results in different perceptions about the underlying cost. Essay 2 shows that counter to intuitive expectations, consumers utilize prices that they themselves decide to pay for a product as being indicative of its quality. Essay 3 shows that ascending vs. descending price orders results in different consumption decisions due to differential perceived importance of price in the decision making. This dissertation also discusses the several important contributions made by this research.

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (ℓ. 46-57)

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-41).

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Alberta, 2010. / "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta." Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on February 12, 2010) Includes bibliographical references.