FROM NEURON TO METAPHOR: A STUDY ON PIAGETIAN THEORIES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR IN PERSIAN CHILDREN

This study extends previous studies regarding the metaphoric comprehension of normal children, as well as Piagetian theories of cognitive development. The researchers discuss how understanding of ontological conceptual metaphors improves through age growth and cognitive development and it helps expanding children’s thought and understanding from the world. A hundred-twenty-one normal native Persian children with no language and cognitive disabilities and four age intervals (5-7, 7.1-9, 9.1-11, and 11.1-13) participated in the study. Descriptive analysis and Pearson Correlation were used to examine the strength and direction of linear relationships between pairs of the variables in each group. Results showed that children by the age of 5 start to comprehend primary ontological conceptual metaphors which are more embodied types of metaphors and not at the age of 11, as implied by Inhelder and Piaget (1964) and Cometa and Eson (1978). Children’s metaphorical abilities improve through age growth and cognitive development and as the children grow older, they understand more complex types of metaphors.

Keywords:

Conceptual metaphor , Ontological metaphor , Primary metaphor , Complex metaphor , Piaget Theories of cognitive development