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Automatic metaphor processing in adults with Asperger syndrome: a metaphor interference effect task

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Abstract

This paper investigates automatic processing of novel metaphors in adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and typically developing controls. We present an experiment combining a semantic judgment task and a recognition task. Four types of sentences were compared: Literally true high-typical sentences, literally true low-typical sentences, apt metaphors, and scrambled metaphors (literally false sentences which are not readily interpretable as metaphors). Participants were asked to make rapid decisions about the literal truth of such sentences. The results revealed that AS and control participants showed significantly slower RTs for metaphors than for scrambled metaphors and made more mistakes in apt metaphoric sentences than in scrambled metaphors. At the same time, there was higher recognition of apt metaphors compared with scrambled metaphors. The findings indicate intact automatic metaphor processing in AS and replicate previous findings on automatic metaphor processing in typically developing individuals.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank all participants who were willing to donate their time and effort to this study. Special thanks are due to Prof. Sam Glucksberg for sending us his materials for inspiration and to Thomas Fangmeier for his expert advice in neuropsychological testing and his assistance in recruiting participants. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

This article is part of the supplement “Bridging the gap between Neurobiology and Psychosocial Medicine”. This supplement was not sponsored by outside commercial interests. It was funded by the German Association for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (DGPPN).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Hauptstraße 5, 79104, Freiburg, Germany

    Ismene Hermann, Ludger Tebartz van Elst, Dieter Ebert & Andreas Riedel

  2. Department of English Linguistics, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Verena Haser

  3. Center for Cognitive Science, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Daniel Müller-Feldmeth & Lars Konieczny

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  1. Ismene Hermann
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  2. Verena Haser
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  3. Ludger Tebartz van Elst
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  5. Daniel Müller-Feldmeth
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  7. Lars Konieczny
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andreas Riedel.

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Ismene Hermann and Verena Haser have contributed equally to the paper.

Andreas Riedel and Lars Konieczny are senior authors who have contributed equally to the paper.

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Hermann, I., Haser, V., van Elst, L.T. et al. Automatic metaphor processing in adults with Asperger syndrome: a metaphor interference effect task. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 263 (Suppl 2), 177–187 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-013-0453-9

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