Metaphorical priming in a lexical decision task in high functioning autism Chahboun1, S., Vulchanov1, V., Saldaña2, D., Eshuis, R.1 and Vulchanova1, M. 1Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab, NTNU, Norway. 2Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva, University of Seville, Spain. 1 Introduction: we need to be able to “decode” the intentions and ideas of person to whom The difficulties experienced by autistic we are talking. The findings from this individuals with regard to study showed that metaphor communication and language are comprehension is impaired in widely known and well documented. individuals with autism. Individuals with High functioning autism (ASD) are distinguished by Our hypothesis in this study is that this relative preservation of linguistic and deficient metaphorical ability might cognitive skills. However, problems depend, not only in the type of with pragmatic language skills have figurative expression (regarding the been consistently reported across the novelty or conventionality of it), but autistic spectrum, even when structural also on the way these expressions are language is intact. Many studies perceived. This is especially relevant establish failure to understand for individuals with ASD who need metaphors, idioms and other forms of specific ways of integrating inputs, such figurative language (Gold & Faust, as the ways in which the type of 2010; Vulchanova, Talcott, Vulchanov instruction can drastically change the & Stankova, 2012). Figurative language reading comprehension in this takes many forms, conceptual population (Micai, Vulchanova & metaphors being one of the most Saldaña 2015). In the current study, we common. On the cognitive level, test responses to metaphorical conceptual metaphors are the mental expressions and whether or not representations we establish in order to metaphors solicit priming for literal or map between two domains (Lakoff & rather the appropriate figurative Johnson 1980; Fauconnier 1985; interpretation in high-functioning Vulchanova, Saldaña, Chahboun & children and adolescents with ASD. Vulchanov 2015). In other words, the logic of one conceptual domain is These tests are carried out through a applied to another. cross modal priming task. Priming is a process occurring outside conscious Several studies have shown impaired awareness, and thus differs from direct figurative language in ASD populations. retrieval. It is an effect of retrieval from One of the first studies in figurative implicit memory, creating a heightened language in autism for instance was that sensitivity to certain stimuli. In general, of Happé (1995). She used 3 types of priming effects are found between expressions: synonyms, similes, and lexical items which share a semantic metaphors. The underlying assumption component or a semantic association. of this study is that, in order to For example, angel is recognized understand these kinds of expressions, quicker, if it is followed by wings than, Copyright © by the paper’s authors. Copying permitted for private and academic purposes. In Vito Pirrelli, Claudia Marzi, Marcello Ferro (eds.): Word Structure and Word Usage. Proceedings of the NetWordS Final Conference, Pisa, March 30-April 1, 2015, published at http://ceur-ws.org 102 say, table. Here we exploit priming to modality of presentation of the stimuli reveal how metaphorical expressions (auditory vs. written) has an effect on are associated with figurative as their processing, as already established opposed to literal interpretations in in on-going research (Chahboun, individuals with ASD. We are also Vulchanov, Saldaña & Vulchanova, interested in whether or not the 2015). 2 Method: Responses were collected with a response box; response accuracy (ACC) 2.1 Participants: and reaction times (RTs) were Two age groups of high-functioning measured by the E-prime software. The ASD participants (N=48) and controls stimuli included 36 prime expressions (N=39) were included (all native classified into 3 different types: novel speakers of Spanish),each group has 2 metaphors, conventional metaphors and age ranges free combinations (non- metaphorical  Group 1: Age range 10-12. expressions), all comprising a noun and Control group (N=18) and ASD group a modifier. The target words were (N=26). semantically related to the prime  Group 2: Age range 16-20. expressions. On half of the instances for Control group (N=21) and ASD group each group of expressions, targets were (N=22). related to the figurative interpretation of the prime, the remaining half were Participants and their legal tutors related to the literal meaning (cf. (usually the parents) provided written Figure1.) consent for entry into the study. Most of the individuals had participated in an In a pilot study with 150 adult native earlier study (Chahboun et al 2015). speakers of Spanish, we determined the degree of familiarity of the metaphors. The diagnosis of ASD was confirmed This allowed us to verify the according to the Autism Diagnostic conventionality of the metaphors or Observation Schedule (ADOS) and also their novelty, and their inclusion in the with the Autism Quotient (AQ). test stimuli. The same number of filler expressions (N=36) were added, We also made sure the participants do respectively as primes, and non-words not have any structural language deficit. served as targets. Thus, each participant In addition to measuring the general IQ responded in total to 72 trials, 36 in each with the Weschler Scale (WISC IV or modality: visual modality (stimuli WAIS) we measured the participants’ presented orthographically) and receptive vocabulary (British Picture auditory (stimuli presented auditorily). Vocabulary Scale), their grammatical The experiment was designed as a language level (CEG: Test of lexical decision task on the target word. comprehension of grammatical structures) and theory of mind. 2.2 Apparatus and Stimuli: Stimuli were displayed on a color monitor controlled by E-prime software implemented on a Dell compatible laptop. 103 3 Preliminary results: The data of both the control and experimental group (N=19) were analysed with R. A linear mixed model analysis on RTs revealed a significant interaction between presentation modality and conventionality of the metaphors (p<.05), with poorer performance of the ASD group when the prime was presented auditorily. Furthermore, there was an interaction Figure 1: Examples of the targets between group and age, with younger semantically related used: Literal or groups taking more time to respond. metaphorical relation Finally, the results showed a significant interaction between modality, type of 2.3 Procedure: target and age. The younger groups’ Each participant was tested individually performance was slower when the in a single session. Participants either prime was presented auditorily, and saw the prime expression on a computer when the target relationship with the screen or heard it via loud-speakers. prime was figurative. The timing of the specific stimulus Regarding accuracy, with a generalized events on each trial was as follows: (1) linear mixed model (R) we found The prime is presented as visual text on significant interactions depending on the screen or auditorily via the loud- the modality of the prime. The ASD speakers (depending on the groups were less accurate in the experimental block ); (2) a fixation auditory modality, in contrast with the point is presented followed by a delay control groups. Moreover, the results of 400 ms as a latency; (3) a target is show a significant interaction between presented as word or non-word; (4) conventional metaphors and age in both Finally, participants have to decide groups. There was a significant whether the target is a word or not in interaction between the type of target, Spanish (cf. Figure 2.). modality and age. Finally, a main effect of group, a main effect of age and an interaction of age and group were observed The typically developing participants were more accurate in both age ranges. In both the experimental and the control group, the older participants performed better than the younger ones, and the difference in performance between the age ranges in the ASD group was greater than in the control group. Figure 2: Sequence of events for the trials of the experiment. 104 4 Conclusions: References: Most of the available literature and Chahboun, S., Vulchanov, V., Saldaña, previous studies, using a range of D., Eshuis, H. & Vulchanova, M. different methodologies, consistently (2015). Contextual and visual cues in demonstrate that figurative language is the interpretation of idioms in high demanding for ASD populations. functioning autism. Manuscript in preparation. In particular, metaphors present a Fauconnier, G. (1985). Mental spaces. difficulty in terms of processing for the Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ASD group. The preliminary results of Gold, R. & Faust, M. (2010). Right this study confirm our earlier findings Hemisphere Dysfunction and that the auditory modality is more Metaphor Comprehension in Young demanding for the ASD group. Adults with Asperger Syndrome. Surprisingly, the significant effect we Journal of Autism and found for accuracy was confined to the Developmental Disorders, 40, 7, conventional metaphors. An 800-811. explanation can be sought in the Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). difference between conventional Metaphors we live by. Chicago: and novel metaphors. University of Chicago Press. Conventional metaphors are less Micai, M., Vulchanova, M., & Saldaña, transparent, making them more D. (2015). Can targeted instructions problematic compared to novel change the reading strategy of metaphors, as these might be processed children with ASD? An eye link without the need for prior familiarity. study. Manuscript in preparation. Vulchanova, M., Talcott, J., These results support the findings in Vulchanov, V., and Stankova, M. Chahboun et al (2015), where a similar (2012). Language against the odds, effect was found for idioms contra or rather not: The Weak Central novel metaphors. Idioms are similar to Coherence hypothesis and language. conventional metaphors in that both Journal of Neurolinguistics, 25, types of expression are less transparent 1,13-30. than both literal expressions and novel Vulchanova, M., Saldaña, D., metaphors. Chahboun, S., & Vulchanov, V. Acknowledgments: (2015): Figurative language processing in atypical populations: This project has received funding from The ASD perspective. Frontiers in the European Union’s Seventh Human Neuroscience, special issue Framework Programme for research; The Metaphorical Brain. technological development and doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00024. demonstration under grant agreement no 316748. 105