Understanding metaphor: A relational frame perspective

The current article presents a basic functional-analytic interpretation of metaphor. This work involves an extension of Skinner's (1957) interpretatio n of metaphor using relational frame theory (RIFT). A basic RIFT interpreta tion of a particular metaphor is outlined, according to which the metaphor acquires its psychological effects when formal stimulus dimensions are cont acted via the derivation of arbitrary stimulus relations. This interpretati on sees the metaphor as involving four elements: (a) establishing two separ ate equivalence relations, (b) deriving an equivalence relation between the se relations, (c) discriminating a formal relation via this equivalence-equ ivalence relation, and (d) a transformation of functions on the basis of th e formal relation discriminated in the third element. In the second half of the paper, a number of important issues with regard to the RFT interpretat ion of metaphor are addressed.