Analogy and similarity are often assumed to be distinct psychological
processes. In contrast to this position, the authors suggest that both
similarity and analogy involve a process of structural alignment and
mapping, that is, that similarity is like analogy In this article, the
authors first describe the structure-mapping process as it has been w
orked out for analogy. Then, this view is extended to similarity, wher
e it is used to generate new predictions. Finally, the authors explore
broader implications of structural alignment for psychological proces
sing.