Metaphor analysis in psychology - method, theory, and fields of application

The analysis of metaphors is a classical research theme in linguistics, but has received very
little attention in psychological research so far. Metaphor analysis—as conceptualized in cognitive
linguistics—is proposed here as a qualitative method for psychological research for several reasons.
Metaphors are culturally and socially defined, yet they also represent a basic cognitive strategy of
analogical problem solving. Metaphors are context-sensitive, yet at the same time they are abstract
models of reality much in the same way as mental models and schemata in cognitive psychology. The
multifaceted properties of metaphors allow for the study of micro-interactions between cognition and
culture in open and qualitative research designs. They also enable the bridging of the gap between
quantitative-experimental and qualitative approaches in psychology. Because metaphors are of high
plausibility in everyday experience, metaphors are a valuable tool for interventions in applied fields of
research such as organizational and work psychology.