Visual Metaphors Can Unlock Feelings That Are Imprisoned by Our Conscious Mind

But metaphors and analogies go deeper than how we communicateamp8212they permeate how we think The theory ofamp160apperceptionamp160suggests that we learn by making connections between new ideas and things we already know And a tendency to think analogically may not be unique to humansamp8212research indicates thatamp160chimpanzeesamp160can think metaphorically tooExperiments suggest we make common connections between images and words or thoughts First demonstrated by psychologist Wolfgang Kamp246hler in 1929 Vilayanur S Ramachandran and Edward M Hubbard repeated Kamp246hler39s experiment in 2001 They asked American college undergraduates and Tamil speakers in India quotWhich of these shapes is bouba and which is kikiquotIn both groups 95 to 98 selected the jagged shape as quotkikiquot and the curvy shape as quotboubaquotUsing visual metaphors to get past conscious thoughtIt is well understood that people are poor at articulating their thoughts and feelings When we answer questions we are often providing socially acceptable posthoc rationalizations of unconscious thoughts and feelings according to psychologists likeamp160Daniel Kahneman and sociologists likeamp160Charles TillyThese rationalizations provide misleading information so we avoid them like the plague To get a better understanding of how people really think and feel we turn to techniques that help us get past conscious thought One of those techniques is metaphor elicitationIn a recent study we used metaphor elicitation to understand how people from ouramp160Innovation Forum Insight Communityamp160felt about artificial intelligence AI We presented people with the images below and asked them quotwhich image best represents how you feel about artificial intelligencequotOuramp160researchamp160revealed that people are deeply divided on the topic of AI To better understand these divisions we segmented people using cluster analysis This exposed three distinct schools of thought on AI Optimists Pragmatists and the Fearful Each segment tended to pick images that shed light on their point of viewOptimists when asked what describes AI picked words like quotproblem solverquot quotvaluablequot and quotexcitingquot They believe quotAI will allow the human race to advance in ways we39ve never seenquot And they agree more moderately that quotonly good things can happen as AI technology gets smarterquot They expect quotAI provides more benefits than risksquot and that quotAI will create many new jobsquotIn our metaphor elicitation exercise Optimists tended to pick positive images like the key the tree growing in a person39s hand and the microscope because they evoked notions of opportunity growth and scienceThe Pragmatists see more shades of grey with AI Like Optimists they see AI as a quotproblem solverquot But they also picked words like quotmysteriousquot quotcomplicatedquot and to a lesser degree quotscaryquot as describing AI They moderately agree quotAI will allow the human race to advance in ways we39ve never seenquot but they also lean towards believing that quotAI will cause many people to lose their jobsquotPragmatists were drawn to similarly mixed messages in the pictures They tended to select the key but also the maze and the microscope but also the storm cloudsThe Fearful see only negatives with AI The words they choose to describe it are things like quotscaryquot quotinvasivequot quotintimidatingquot and quotuncontrolledquot They firmly believe quotAI is threatening the existence of the human racequot and that quotthere are downsides to AI technology getting smarterquotThe Fearful were more likely to pick darker images like the chains the storm clouds and the mazeamp8212reflecting their unease with AIShedding light on the truthThese findings suggest that metaphor elicitation helps us triangulate the truth by providing evidence that points toward an underlying perception or feeling When we see accord between feelings as measured by the words and attitudes as measured by the statements and the imagery we have greater insight into how people really feel And we have ideas for the type of visuals we might want to use when communicating about the subjectObtaining insight into what people really think and feel is harder than is appears on the surface Metaphor elicitation can help cut through the murkiness and shed a penetrating light on the truthClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Visual Metaphors Can Unlock Feelings That Are Imprisoned by Our Conscious Mind

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Kim Arnold

American Lung Association and the Ad Council Unveil New PSAs Highlighting the Significance of Early Detection for Lung Cancer - Ad Council InSites

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Visual Metaphors Can Unlock Feelings That Are Imprisoned by Our Conscious Mind

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Kim Arnold

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