Climbing the metaphor ladder: developmental trajectories in early childhood

Attempts to describe the early acquisition of metaphor skills led to inconsistent results. We address this issue by examining developmental trajectories across metaphor types and along the literal–figurative and physical–mental dimensions. To this end, we implemented the Physical and Mental Metaphors task in a multiple-choice format (with literal, unrelated, figurative physical, and figurative mental interpretation options) and administered it to 176 typically developing children aged 4-6, alongside linguistic, cognitive, and Theory of Mind tests. We observed a curvilinear trend, with age 6 marking a significant improvement in physical, but not mental, metaphors, driven by a drop in literal interpretations. For mental metaphors, children at this age still prefer physical interpretations. Vocabulary supported physical metaphors, while Theory of Mind aided mental metaphor comprehension. Results highlight that overcoming literal and physical preferences are two important stages in metaphor development, interacting with verbal and socio-cognitive factors.