Happé (1993) proposed that theory of mind (ToM) understanding was necessary for comprehension of metaphorical expressions. The current study investigated the role of both ToM and language ability in metaphor understanding. Ninety-four children aged 8–15 years with communication impairments were grouped according to language ability and autistic symptomatology in the first instance, and then acc...

A key issue for models of metaphor comprehension is to explain how in some metaphorical comparison , only some features of B are transferred to A. The features of B that are transferred to A depend both on A and on B. This is the central thrust of Black's well known interaction theory of metaphor comprehension (1979). However, this theory is somewhat abstract, and it is not obvious how ...

In this paper we argue that the hypothesis of the theory of mind advanced in cognitive science can be the basis not only of the social abilities which allow interaction among individuals, but also of the construction of social reality. The theory of mind is the attribution, via the agent metaphor, of mental attitudes, like beliefs and goals, to other agents. Analogously, we attribute mental att...

Desktop computers capable of rendering high-fidelity, three-dimensional graphics have long been used for the development of virtual worlds. Typical interaction with virtual worlds occurs in fully immersive virtual reality systems that make use of complex spatial inputs, but such inputs are not easily replicated with a keyboard and mouse. We present the concept of avatar manipulation as a metaph...

One of the hallmarks of human intelligence is the ability to go beyond literal meanings of utterances to infer speakers’ intended meanings, a feat that remains elusive to the most advanced artificial systems. Figurative language such as metaphor, in particular, provides a striking case where complex meanings arise that cannot be derived from the literal semantics alone. For example, My lawyer i...