Christian Burgers | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (original) (raw)
Papers by Christian Burgers
Public Understanding of Science, 2020
Journalists and experts contribute to the creation of frames (frame-building) of innovations. How... more Journalists and experts contribute to the creation of frames (frame-building) of innovations. However, little is known about the specific contribution of these different societal actors to the frame-building of emerging information technologies. This article focuses on a specific emerging information technology-cyberinfrastructure for big data. In particular, we investigated the role of metaphors in the frame-building of cyberinfrastructure during its early development, and contrast the metaphorical framing of cyberinfrastructure by journalists in a corpus of US news texts (Study 1) with the metaphorical framing of experts in a corpus of interviews (Study 2). Results show considerable differences between the frames by journalists and experts in the frame-building process. Journalists, to a great extent, employ their own frames in conceptualizing cyberinfrastructure rather than drawing on the frames used by experts. Future research should investigate the impact of these different metaphorical frames on audience members.
International Journal of Communication, 2020
An important challenge for communication scientists is to characterize and understand hybrid genr... more An important challenge for communication scientists is to characterize and understand hybrid genres. Satirical news is such a hybrid genre and comprises a blend of the genres of comedy, news, and political opinion. This theoretical article aims to contribute to this discussion by further specifying the concept of discursive mode. Discursive modes designate certain communicative orientations toward a particular genre element. We make our argument concrete by introducing a typology of metaphorical humor in satirical news. Our humoristic metaphors in satirical news (HMSN) typology, demonstrates that satirists can realize and switch between 4 different discursive modes through metaphors. These discursive modes comprise different combinations of core rhetorical functions in satirical news (humor, education, and evaluation). We describe each type of metaphor in our typology and present a research agenda identifying key issues that require future research and empirical verification.
Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 2020
This article focuses on the role of language in social-stereotype formation through interpersonal... more This article focuses on the role of language in social-stereotype formation through interpersonal communication. We conducted a between-subjects experiment (N = 423), in which participants were exposed to differential remarks about (members of) an unknown social group. Remarks varied in two linguistic devices: (a) label type, by distinguishing between generic and specific labels and (b) behavior descriptions, by contrasting negations and affirmations in descriptions of competent (e.g., not stupid vs. smart) and incompetent behaviors (e.g., not smart vs. stupid). Generic (vs.
specific) labels increased perceived entitativity (“groupness” of category members), stereotype content (perceived competence) and perceived essentialism of described behaviors. Compared with affirmations, only the communication pattern with negations in descriptions of competent behaviors (e.g., not stupid) decreased perceived competence of group members, and increased perceived essentialism of incompetent
behavior. Label type and negations did not interact, suggesting that these linguistic devices play a distinct, parallel role in stereotype formation.
Conceptual concreteness and categorical specificity are two continuous variables that allow disti... more Conceptual concreteness and categorical specificity are two continuous variables that allow distinguishing, for example, justice (low concreteness) from banana (high concreteness) and furniture (low specificity) from rocking chair (high specificity). The relation between these two variables is unclear, with some scholars suggesting that they might be highly correlated. In this study, we operationalize both variables and conduct a series of analyses on a sample of > 13,000 nouns, to investigate the relationship between them. Concreteness is operationalized by means of concreteness ratings, and specificity is operational-ized as the relative position of the words in the WordNet taxonomy, which proxies this variable in the hypernym semantic relation. Findings from our studies show only a moderate correlation between concreteness and specificity. Moreover, the intersection of the two variables generates four groups of words that seem to denote qualitatively different types of concepts, which are, respectively, highly specific and highly concrete (typical concrete concepts denoting individual nouns), highly specific and highly abstract (among them many words denoting human-born creation and concepts within the social reality domains), highly generic and highly concrete (among which many mass nouns, or uncountable nouns), and highly generic and highly abstract (typical abstract concepts which are likely to be loaded with affective information, as suggested by previous literature). These results suggest that future studies should consider concreteness and specificity as two distinct dimensions of the general phenomenon called abstraction.
E-Learning and Digital Media, 2019
In this paper, we reflect on the implementation of a gamified application for helping students le... more In this paper, we reflect on the implementation of a gamified application for helping students learn important facts about their study program. We focus on two design features, of which different configurations were tested in a field experiment among Dutch university students (N ¼ 101). The first feature is feedback, which is expected to increase engagement, with personalized ("tailored") feedback being more effective than generic feedback. The second feature is a session limit that was designed to prevent users from "binging" the game, because this could prevent deep learning. Results showed that generic feedback was more effective than tailored feedback, contrasting our expectations. The session limit, however, did prevent binging without reducing the overall number of sessions played. Our findings suggest that careful consideration of game properties may impact sustaining and encouraging play via a gamified application.
Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 2019
Research on linguistic biases shows that stereotypic expectancies are implicitly reflected in lan... more Research on linguistic biases shows that stereotypic expectancies are implicitly reflected in language and thereby subtly communicated to message recipients. Research on the Negation Bias shows that the use of negations (e.g., not stupid vs. smart) is more pronounced in descriptions of stereotype-inconsistent compared with stereotype-consistent behaviors. This article reports a replication study of the original research conducted in Dutch, using newly developed materials, and in five different languages: English, Dutch, Hungarian, Finnish, and Serbian. The results validate the existence of the Negation Bias in all five languages. This suggests that negation use serves a similar stereotype-maintaining function across language families.
Cognitive Science, 2019
Concreteness ratings are frequently used in a variety of disciplines to operationalize difference... more Concreteness ratings are frequently used in a variety of disciplines to operationalize differences between concrete and abstract words and concepts. However, most ratings studies present items in isolation, thereby overlooking the potential polysemy of words. Consequently, ratings for polyse-mous words may be conflated, causing a threat to the validity of concreteness-ratings studies. This is particularly relevant to metaphorical words, which typically describe something abstract in terms of something more concrete. To investigate whether perceived concreteness ratings differ for metaphorical versus non-metaphorical word meanings, we obtained concreteness ratings for 96 English nouns from 230 participants. Results show that nouns are perceived as less concrete when a metaphorical (versus non-metaphorical) meaning is triggered. We thus recommend taking metaphoricity into account in future concreteness-ratings studies to further improve the quality and reliability of such studies, as well as the consistency of the empirical studies that rely on these ratings.
International Journal of Advertising, 2019
Humorous video genres (e.g. comedy/skits, pranks, or humorous vlogs and gaming videos) are among ... more Humorous video genres (e.g. comedy/skits, pranks, or humorous
vlogs and gaming videos) are among the most popular on online
platforms like YouTube. The most common way for brands to
advertise in these videos is by means of overlay ads. The current
paper investigates the effectiveness of such in-video ads. Based
on prior studies on multi-modal information processing, we propose
that the timing of showing the brand vs. the humorous
build-up may be crucial. In two 4-condition (showing the brand
at the joke’s start, immediately before, simultaneous to, and
immediately after the punch line) between-subjects experiments
(N¼109; N¼394), participants assessed brand recall, brand-logo
recognition, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions after exposure
to an overlay ad of a soda brand during a humorous (standup)
video. Results show the importance of timing: confirming our
expectations, showing the brand simultaneous to the punch line
reduced recall (Study 1) and logo recognition (Studies 1 and 2). In
contrast, showing the brand simultaneous to (Study 1) or immediately
before (Study 2) the punch line improved brand attitudes
and purchase intentions. Results indicate that the optimal timing
of an overlay ad during a humorous video depends on the advertiser’s
goals: increasing brand awareness or improving
brand attitudes.
Applied Linguistics, 2019
Journal of Pragmatics, 2019
Politicians often use metaphors to frame their political agendas, such as President Trump’s promi... more Politicians often use metaphors to frame their political agendas, such as President Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp.” We examine how such metaphorical frames are transformed in partisan media (conservative, liberal). Results demonstrate that the “drain the swamp” metaphor is used in three ways: (1) without transformation, to paraphrase, explain and/or evaluate a statement by a political actor, (2) with transformation of the target, which occurs either through narrowing or recasting and (3) with transformation of the source. These source transformations follow narrative rules constrained by story grammar, and entail the transformation of (a) an event into a state, (b) changing a specific event, (c) adding characters and/or objects, (d) an alternative ending and/or (e) mixed metaphor. We show why and how some strategies are used by both partisan groups, while others are used by one group only, resulting in a different meaning of the same metaphor across partisan media.
Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 2018
This paper offers a systematic, bottom-up, investigation of the role of adjectives as metaphor si... more This paper offers a systematic, bottom-up, investigation of the role of adjectives as metaphor signals in metaphorical domain constructions (MDCs) such as ‘budgetary anorexia’ and ‘economic crash’ within the framework of Deliberate Metaphor Theory (e.g., Steen, 2017). To this end, we analyse all MDCs in the VU Amsterdam Metaphor Corpus. Results of our analyses demonstrate that domain adjectives in MDCs do not by definition constitute signals of metaphor, and that not all nouns in MDCs are identified as potentially deliberate metaphors. We identify three different functions of domain adjectives: (1) signal of novel metaphor; (2) signal of conventional metaphor; (3) non-signal. The analyses in this paper provide new insights into both the role of domain adjectives in MDCs, and the position of MDCs as a typical manifestation of potentially deliberate metaphor.
This study presents the creation of a measurement device to determine and define sustainability a... more This study presents the creation of a measurement device to determine and define sustainability attitudes into identifiable sustainability segments. These segments were profiled with behavioral and sociodemographic data. Based on previous literature, key sustainability topics were identified from which a 31-item questionnaire was developed, the Five Factor Sustainability Scale (FFSS). With the FFSS, multiple domains of environmental sustainability can be assessed. We present results validating this measure using a factor–cluster segmentation approach in a nationally representative sample (N ¼ 508). Five sustainability factors emerged: (1) sustainable spending, (2) sustainable skepticism, (3) sustainable responsibility, (4) sustainable support, and (5) sustainable mobility. A cluster analysis on this sample yielded four segments in which people were grouped according to their sustainable attitudes: (1) Convinced Sustainers, (2) Sustainable Wannabes, (3) Sustainable Non-Believers, and (4) Non-Sustainers. Results linking these segments to behavioral and demographic data show discernable differences between the segments, making the FFSS a valuable tool for future intervention studies aiming at sustainable behavior change. One of the major priorities for governments, businesses, and communities across the globe is encouraging people to adopt environmentally friendly lifestyles (Steg & Vlek, 2009). Yet, before we can start stimulating people to live sustainably, we need to understand how and why people make the
Research & Politics, 2018
Twenty-five years after Entman (1993) argued that the framing paradigm was fractured, debates abo... more Twenty-five years after Entman (1993) argued that the framing paradigm was fractured, debates about the value of framing as a theoretical concept are still ongoing. In particular, discussions focus on the use of: (a) equivalence frames (i.e., frames with logical equivalence such as gain and loss frames) versus emphasis frames (i.e., frames that emphasize different dimensions of an issue); and (b) generic frames (frames that are applicable to multiple issues) versus issue-specific frames (frames that are applicable to one issue only). We conducted a systematic review on the use of these frame types in 21st-century political-framing experiments (N = 372) to establish whether and how scholars’ positions in these debates have changed across disciplines and over time. Results demonstrate that emphasis frames are more popular than equivalence frames, and that a slight majority of frames are issue-specific rather than generic. Moreover, frame preferences differ across disciplines and have hardly changed over time. This study thus shows that debates about what types of frames should be studied have had little influence on scholars’ frame choices across disciplines in previous research on political framing.
Review of Communication Research, 2019
Language use plays a crucial role in the consensualization of stereotypes within cultural groups.... more Language use plays a crucial role in the consensualization of stereotypes within cultural groups. Based on integrative review of the literature on stereotyping and biased language use, we propose the Social Categories and Stereotypes Communication (SCSC) framework. The framework integrates largely independent areas of literature, and explicates the linguistic processes through which social-category stereotypes are shared and maintained. We distinguish two groups of biases in language use that jointly feed and maintain three fundamental cognitive variables in (shared) social-category cognition: perceived category entitativity, stereotype content, and perceived essentialism of associated stereotypic characteristics. These are: (1) Biases in linguistic labels used to denote categories, within which we discuss biases in (a) label content and (b) linguistic form of labels; (2) Biases in describing behaviors and characteristics of categorized individuals, within which we discuss biases in (a) communication content (i.e., what information is communicated), and (b) linguistic form of descriptions (i.e., how is information formulated). Together, these biases create a self-perpetuating cycle in which social-category stereotypes are shared and maintained. The framework allows for a better understanding of stereotype maintaining biases in natural language. We discuss various opportunities for further research.
Journal of Pragmatics, 2018
While classical theories on rhetoric cluster figurative devices like metaphor, hyperbole, and iro... more While classical theories on rhetoric cluster figurative devices like metaphor, hyperbole, and irony under the encompassing category of tropes, current theories and research typically focus on one of the tropes in isolation. To determine how these different tropes are used in combinations, we conducted a large-scale corpus analysis of Dutch printed news discourse (54,851 words). For metaphor and hyperbole, we find that typical combinations are found in nouns and adjectives, showing that such combinations differ from the use of either trope in isolation. For hyperbole and irony, we find a relation between the two tropes in that ironic clauses contain more hyperbole than non-ironic clauses. In contrast, for metaphor and irony, we find no empirical evidence that the use of metaphors differs between ironic and non-ironic clauses. Analysis of clauses containing the three tropes of metaphor, hyperbole and irony shows that these may not always reflect novel and creative word use. Instead, various cases seem to contain conventional uses of metaphor and hyperbole.
Corpus Pragmatics, 2018
This paper introduces the Deliberate Metaphor Identification Procedure (DMIP), a method for the s... more This paper introduces the Deliberate Metaphor Identification Procedure (DMIP), a method for the systematic and reliable identification of potentially deliberate metaphor in language use. We take a semiotic approach to deliberate metaphor, and propose that, on a semiotic level, the distinction between potentially deliberate and non-deliberate metaphor hinges on the question whether the source domain functions as a distinct referent in the meaning of a metaphorical utterance. We present DMIP and illustrate the procedure in practice on the basis of the analysis of a series of real-world examples. We also report on inter-rater reliability testing. Finally, we discuss the implications of adopting DMIP as a tool for deliberate-metaphor analysis, and point out how this approach can contribute to the further development of Deliberate Metaphor Theory.
Lakoff (2002 [1996], Moral politics. How liberals and conservative think. Chicago: The University... more Lakoff (2002 [1996], Moral politics. How liberals and conservative think. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press) presents the Theory of Moral Politics (TMR), as based in the roles of metaphor in moral thinking in American Politics. Two distinct methods of data analysis, one social-psychological and one cognitive-linguistic, have been employed to empirically test Lakoff's assertions on moral reasoning, but have yielded different results. We applied both methods to the same corpus of speeches to determine whether they would yield similar results and could thus be considered to be equally appropriate ways of testing the presence of moral language. We show that the method affects what sort of conclusion can be drawn from research. Consequently, when testing TMR, we recommend that the corpus-linguistic method used is critically evaluated.
![Research paper thumbnail of Political Metaphor Analysis: Discourse and Scenarios [book review].](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/54901408/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Journal of Communication, 2017
This is a book review of: Musolff, A. (2016). Political Metaphor Analysis: Discourse and Scenari... more This is a book review of:
Musolff, A. (2016). Political Metaphor Analysis: Discourse and Scenarios. London (UK) and New York (USA): Bloomsbury.
Metaphors are often used to frame news. Different types of metaphor (conventional, novel) can aff... more Metaphors are often used to frame news. Different types of metaphor (conventional, novel) can affect issue viewpoint via different underlying mechanisms (cognitive and affective text perception). We conducted a single-factor (type of expression: conventional metaphor, novel metaphor, nonmetaphorical expression) between-subjects experiment with text perception (cognitive, affective) and issue viewpoint as dependent variables and perceived novelty and perceived aptness of the metaphors as control variables. Type of expression did not affect issue viewpoint. Rather, we found indirect effects of metaphors on both cognitive and affective text perception via perceived novelty and aptness. Perceived novelty positively affected cognitive and affective text perception. However, for cognitive text perception, the positive effect of perceived novelty was countered by a negative effect of perceived aptness. This shows that metaphors work through different mechanisms, evoked by two different types of metaphor perception (perceived novelty, perceived aptness).
Public Understanding of Science, 2020
Journalists and experts contribute to the creation of frames (frame-building) of innovations. How... more Journalists and experts contribute to the creation of frames (frame-building) of innovations. However, little is known about the specific contribution of these different societal actors to the frame-building of emerging information technologies. This article focuses on a specific emerging information technology-cyberinfrastructure for big data. In particular, we investigated the role of metaphors in the frame-building of cyberinfrastructure during its early development, and contrast the metaphorical framing of cyberinfrastructure by journalists in a corpus of US news texts (Study 1) with the metaphorical framing of experts in a corpus of interviews (Study 2). Results show considerable differences between the frames by journalists and experts in the frame-building process. Journalists, to a great extent, employ their own frames in conceptualizing cyberinfrastructure rather than drawing on the frames used by experts. Future research should investigate the impact of these different metaphorical frames on audience members.
International Journal of Communication, 2020
An important challenge for communication scientists is to characterize and understand hybrid genr... more An important challenge for communication scientists is to characterize and understand hybrid genres. Satirical news is such a hybrid genre and comprises a blend of the genres of comedy, news, and political opinion. This theoretical article aims to contribute to this discussion by further specifying the concept of discursive mode. Discursive modes designate certain communicative orientations toward a particular genre element. We make our argument concrete by introducing a typology of metaphorical humor in satirical news. Our humoristic metaphors in satirical news (HMSN) typology, demonstrates that satirists can realize and switch between 4 different discursive modes through metaphors. These discursive modes comprise different combinations of core rhetorical functions in satirical news (humor, education, and evaluation). We describe each type of metaphor in our typology and present a research agenda identifying key issues that require future research and empirical verification.
Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 2020
This article focuses on the role of language in social-stereotype formation through interpersonal... more This article focuses on the role of language in social-stereotype formation through interpersonal communication. We conducted a between-subjects experiment (N = 423), in which participants were exposed to differential remarks about (members of) an unknown social group. Remarks varied in two linguistic devices: (a) label type, by distinguishing between generic and specific labels and (b) behavior descriptions, by contrasting negations and affirmations in descriptions of competent (e.g., not stupid vs. smart) and incompetent behaviors (e.g., not smart vs. stupid). Generic (vs.
specific) labels increased perceived entitativity (“groupness” of category members), stereotype content (perceived competence) and perceived essentialism of described behaviors. Compared with affirmations, only the communication pattern with negations in descriptions of competent behaviors (e.g., not stupid) decreased perceived competence of group members, and increased perceived essentialism of incompetent
behavior. Label type and negations did not interact, suggesting that these linguistic devices play a distinct, parallel role in stereotype formation.
Conceptual concreteness and categorical specificity are two continuous variables that allow disti... more Conceptual concreteness and categorical specificity are two continuous variables that allow distinguishing, for example, justice (low concreteness) from banana (high concreteness) and furniture (low specificity) from rocking chair (high specificity). The relation between these two variables is unclear, with some scholars suggesting that they might be highly correlated. In this study, we operationalize both variables and conduct a series of analyses on a sample of > 13,000 nouns, to investigate the relationship between them. Concreteness is operationalized by means of concreteness ratings, and specificity is operational-ized as the relative position of the words in the WordNet taxonomy, which proxies this variable in the hypernym semantic relation. Findings from our studies show only a moderate correlation between concreteness and specificity. Moreover, the intersection of the two variables generates four groups of words that seem to denote qualitatively different types of concepts, which are, respectively, highly specific and highly concrete (typical concrete concepts denoting individual nouns), highly specific and highly abstract (among them many words denoting human-born creation and concepts within the social reality domains), highly generic and highly concrete (among which many mass nouns, or uncountable nouns), and highly generic and highly abstract (typical abstract concepts which are likely to be loaded with affective information, as suggested by previous literature). These results suggest that future studies should consider concreteness and specificity as two distinct dimensions of the general phenomenon called abstraction.
E-Learning and Digital Media, 2019
In this paper, we reflect on the implementation of a gamified application for helping students le... more In this paper, we reflect on the implementation of a gamified application for helping students learn important facts about their study program. We focus on two design features, of which different configurations were tested in a field experiment among Dutch university students (N ¼ 101). The first feature is feedback, which is expected to increase engagement, with personalized ("tailored") feedback being more effective than generic feedback. The second feature is a session limit that was designed to prevent users from "binging" the game, because this could prevent deep learning. Results showed that generic feedback was more effective than tailored feedback, contrasting our expectations. The session limit, however, did prevent binging without reducing the overall number of sessions played. Our findings suggest that careful consideration of game properties may impact sustaining and encouraging play via a gamified application.
Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 2019
Research on linguistic biases shows that stereotypic expectancies are implicitly reflected in lan... more Research on linguistic biases shows that stereotypic expectancies are implicitly reflected in language and thereby subtly communicated to message recipients. Research on the Negation Bias shows that the use of negations (e.g., not stupid vs. smart) is more pronounced in descriptions of stereotype-inconsistent compared with stereotype-consistent behaviors. This article reports a replication study of the original research conducted in Dutch, using newly developed materials, and in five different languages: English, Dutch, Hungarian, Finnish, and Serbian. The results validate the existence of the Negation Bias in all five languages. This suggests that negation use serves a similar stereotype-maintaining function across language families.
Cognitive Science, 2019
Concreteness ratings are frequently used in a variety of disciplines to operationalize difference... more Concreteness ratings are frequently used in a variety of disciplines to operationalize differences between concrete and abstract words and concepts. However, most ratings studies present items in isolation, thereby overlooking the potential polysemy of words. Consequently, ratings for polyse-mous words may be conflated, causing a threat to the validity of concreteness-ratings studies. This is particularly relevant to metaphorical words, which typically describe something abstract in terms of something more concrete. To investigate whether perceived concreteness ratings differ for metaphorical versus non-metaphorical word meanings, we obtained concreteness ratings for 96 English nouns from 230 participants. Results show that nouns are perceived as less concrete when a metaphorical (versus non-metaphorical) meaning is triggered. We thus recommend taking metaphoricity into account in future concreteness-ratings studies to further improve the quality and reliability of such studies, as well as the consistency of the empirical studies that rely on these ratings.
International Journal of Advertising, 2019
Humorous video genres (e.g. comedy/skits, pranks, or humorous vlogs and gaming videos) are among ... more Humorous video genres (e.g. comedy/skits, pranks, or humorous
vlogs and gaming videos) are among the most popular on online
platforms like YouTube. The most common way for brands to
advertise in these videos is by means of overlay ads. The current
paper investigates the effectiveness of such in-video ads. Based
on prior studies on multi-modal information processing, we propose
that the timing of showing the brand vs. the humorous
build-up may be crucial. In two 4-condition (showing the brand
at the joke’s start, immediately before, simultaneous to, and
immediately after the punch line) between-subjects experiments
(N¼109; N¼394), participants assessed brand recall, brand-logo
recognition, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions after exposure
to an overlay ad of a soda brand during a humorous (standup)
video. Results show the importance of timing: confirming our
expectations, showing the brand simultaneous to the punch line
reduced recall (Study 1) and logo recognition (Studies 1 and 2). In
contrast, showing the brand simultaneous to (Study 1) or immediately
before (Study 2) the punch line improved brand attitudes
and purchase intentions. Results indicate that the optimal timing
of an overlay ad during a humorous video depends on the advertiser’s
goals: increasing brand awareness or improving
brand attitudes.
Applied Linguistics, 2019
Journal of Pragmatics, 2019
Politicians often use metaphors to frame their political agendas, such as President Trump’s promi... more Politicians often use metaphors to frame their political agendas, such as President Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp.” We examine how such metaphorical frames are transformed in partisan media (conservative, liberal). Results demonstrate that the “drain the swamp” metaphor is used in three ways: (1) without transformation, to paraphrase, explain and/or evaluate a statement by a political actor, (2) with transformation of the target, which occurs either through narrowing or recasting and (3) with transformation of the source. These source transformations follow narrative rules constrained by story grammar, and entail the transformation of (a) an event into a state, (b) changing a specific event, (c) adding characters and/or objects, (d) an alternative ending and/or (e) mixed metaphor. We show why and how some strategies are used by both partisan groups, while others are used by one group only, resulting in a different meaning of the same metaphor across partisan media.
Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 2018
This paper offers a systematic, bottom-up, investigation of the role of adjectives as metaphor si... more This paper offers a systematic, bottom-up, investigation of the role of adjectives as metaphor signals in metaphorical domain constructions (MDCs) such as ‘budgetary anorexia’ and ‘economic crash’ within the framework of Deliberate Metaphor Theory (e.g., Steen, 2017). To this end, we analyse all MDCs in the VU Amsterdam Metaphor Corpus. Results of our analyses demonstrate that domain adjectives in MDCs do not by definition constitute signals of metaphor, and that not all nouns in MDCs are identified as potentially deliberate metaphors. We identify three different functions of domain adjectives: (1) signal of novel metaphor; (2) signal of conventional metaphor; (3) non-signal. The analyses in this paper provide new insights into both the role of domain adjectives in MDCs, and the position of MDCs as a typical manifestation of potentially deliberate metaphor.
This study presents the creation of a measurement device to determine and define sustainability a... more This study presents the creation of a measurement device to determine and define sustainability attitudes into identifiable sustainability segments. These segments were profiled with behavioral and sociodemographic data. Based on previous literature, key sustainability topics were identified from which a 31-item questionnaire was developed, the Five Factor Sustainability Scale (FFSS). With the FFSS, multiple domains of environmental sustainability can be assessed. We present results validating this measure using a factor–cluster segmentation approach in a nationally representative sample (N ¼ 508). Five sustainability factors emerged: (1) sustainable spending, (2) sustainable skepticism, (3) sustainable responsibility, (4) sustainable support, and (5) sustainable mobility. A cluster analysis on this sample yielded four segments in which people were grouped according to their sustainable attitudes: (1) Convinced Sustainers, (2) Sustainable Wannabes, (3) Sustainable Non-Believers, and (4) Non-Sustainers. Results linking these segments to behavioral and demographic data show discernable differences between the segments, making the FFSS a valuable tool for future intervention studies aiming at sustainable behavior change. One of the major priorities for governments, businesses, and communities across the globe is encouraging people to adopt environmentally friendly lifestyles (Steg & Vlek, 2009). Yet, before we can start stimulating people to live sustainably, we need to understand how and why people make the
Research & Politics, 2018
Twenty-five years after Entman (1993) argued that the framing paradigm was fractured, debates abo... more Twenty-five years after Entman (1993) argued that the framing paradigm was fractured, debates about the value of framing as a theoretical concept are still ongoing. In particular, discussions focus on the use of: (a) equivalence frames (i.e., frames with logical equivalence such as gain and loss frames) versus emphasis frames (i.e., frames that emphasize different dimensions of an issue); and (b) generic frames (frames that are applicable to multiple issues) versus issue-specific frames (frames that are applicable to one issue only). We conducted a systematic review on the use of these frame types in 21st-century political-framing experiments (N = 372) to establish whether and how scholars’ positions in these debates have changed across disciplines and over time. Results demonstrate that emphasis frames are more popular than equivalence frames, and that a slight majority of frames are issue-specific rather than generic. Moreover, frame preferences differ across disciplines and have hardly changed over time. This study thus shows that debates about what types of frames should be studied have had little influence on scholars’ frame choices across disciplines in previous research on political framing.
Review of Communication Research, 2019
Language use plays a crucial role in the consensualization of stereotypes within cultural groups.... more Language use plays a crucial role in the consensualization of stereotypes within cultural groups. Based on integrative review of the literature on stereotyping and biased language use, we propose the Social Categories and Stereotypes Communication (SCSC) framework. The framework integrates largely independent areas of literature, and explicates the linguistic processes through which social-category stereotypes are shared and maintained. We distinguish two groups of biases in language use that jointly feed and maintain three fundamental cognitive variables in (shared) social-category cognition: perceived category entitativity, stereotype content, and perceived essentialism of associated stereotypic characteristics. These are: (1) Biases in linguistic labels used to denote categories, within which we discuss biases in (a) label content and (b) linguistic form of labels; (2) Biases in describing behaviors and characteristics of categorized individuals, within which we discuss biases in (a) communication content (i.e., what information is communicated), and (b) linguistic form of descriptions (i.e., how is information formulated). Together, these biases create a self-perpetuating cycle in which social-category stereotypes are shared and maintained. The framework allows for a better understanding of stereotype maintaining biases in natural language. We discuss various opportunities for further research.
Journal of Pragmatics, 2018
While classical theories on rhetoric cluster figurative devices like metaphor, hyperbole, and iro... more While classical theories on rhetoric cluster figurative devices like metaphor, hyperbole, and irony under the encompassing category of tropes, current theories and research typically focus on one of the tropes in isolation. To determine how these different tropes are used in combinations, we conducted a large-scale corpus analysis of Dutch printed news discourse (54,851 words). For metaphor and hyperbole, we find that typical combinations are found in nouns and adjectives, showing that such combinations differ from the use of either trope in isolation. For hyperbole and irony, we find a relation between the two tropes in that ironic clauses contain more hyperbole than non-ironic clauses. In contrast, for metaphor and irony, we find no empirical evidence that the use of metaphors differs between ironic and non-ironic clauses. Analysis of clauses containing the three tropes of metaphor, hyperbole and irony shows that these may not always reflect novel and creative word use. Instead, various cases seem to contain conventional uses of metaphor and hyperbole.
Corpus Pragmatics, 2018
This paper introduces the Deliberate Metaphor Identification Procedure (DMIP), a method for the s... more This paper introduces the Deliberate Metaphor Identification Procedure (DMIP), a method for the systematic and reliable identification of potentially deliberate metaphor in language use. We take a semiotic approach to deliberate metaphor, and propose that, on a semiotic level, the distinction between potentially deliberate and non-deliberate metaphor hinges on the question whether the source domain functions as a distinct referent in the meaning of a metaphorical utterance. We present DMIP and illustrate the procedure in practice on the basis of the analysis of a series of real-world examples. We also report on inter-rater reliability testing. Finally, we discuss the implications of adopting DMIP as a tool for deliberate-metaphor analysis, and point out how this approach can contribute to the further development of Deliberate Metaphor Theory.
Lakoff (2002 [1996], Moral politics. How liberals and conservative think. Chicago: The University... more Lakoff (2002 [1996], Moral politics. How liberals and conservative think. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press) presents the Theory of Moral Politics (TMR), as based in the roles of metaphor in moral thinking in American Politics. Two distinct methods of data analysis, one social-psychological and one cognitive-linguistic, have been employed to empirically test Lakoff's assertions on moral reasoning, but have yielded different results. We applied both methods to the same corpus of speeches to determine whether they would yield similar results and could thus be considered to be equally appropriate ways of testing the presence of moral language. We show that the method affects what sort of conclusion can be drawn from research. Consequently, when testing TMR, we recommend that the corpus-linguistic method used is critically evaluated.
Journal of Communication, 2017
This is a book review of: Musolff, A. (2016). Political Metaphor Analysis: Discourse and Scenari... more This is a book review of:
Musolff, A. (2016). Political Metaphor Analysis: Discourse and Scenarios. London (UK) and New York (USA): Bloomsbury.
Metaphors are often used to frame news. Different types of metaphor (conventional, novel) can aff... more Metaphors are often used to frame news. Different types of metaphor (conventional, novel) can affect issue viewpoint via different underlying mechanisms (cognitive and affective text perception). We conducted a single-factor (type of expression: conventional metaphor, novel metaphor, nonmetaphorical expression) between-subjects experiment with text perception (cognitive, affective) and issue viewpoint as dependent variables and perceived novelty and perceived aptness of the metaphors as control variables. Type of expression did not affect issue viewpoint. Rather, we found indirect effects of metaphors on both cognitive and affective text perception via perceived novelty and aptness. Perceived novelty positively affected cognitive and affective text perception. However, for cognitive text perception, the positive effect of perceived novelty was countered by a negative effect of perceived aptness. This shows that metaphors work through different mechanisms, evoked by two different types of metaphor perception (perceived novelty, perceived aptness).
Review of Communication Research, 2019
Language use plays a crucial role in the consensualization of stereotypes within cultural groups.... more Language use plays a crucial role in the consensualization of stereotypes within cultural groups. Based on an integrative review of the literature on stereotyping and biased language use, we propose the Social Categories and Stereotypes Communication (SCSC) framework. The framework integrates largely independent areas of literature and explicates the linguistic processes through which social-category stereotypes are shared and maintained. We distinguish two groups of biases in language use that jointly feed and maintain three fundamental cognitive variables in (shared) social-category cognition: perceived category entitativity, stereotype content, and perceived essentialism of associated stereotypic characteristics. These are: (1) Biases in linguistic labels used to denote categories, within which we discuss biases in (a) label content and (b) linguistic form of labels, (2) Biases in describing behaviors and characteristics of categorized individuals, within which we discuss biases in (a) communication content (i.e., what information is communicated), and (b) linguistic form of descriptions (i.e., how is information formulated). Together, these biases create a self-perpetuating cycle in which social-category stereotypes are shared and maintained. The framework allows for a better understanding of stereotype maintaining biases in natural language. We discuss various opportunities for further research.