This dissertation draws upon theories from Psychology, Cognitive Science, Linguistics, and Political Communication in order to develop and test a theory regarding the persuasiveness of the use of metaphor in political appeals. Visual, audio and print metaphors are tested for their relative persuasiveness in four experimental studies (forming a total sample of 636 subjects). The four studies test the persuasiveness of metaphor and its interaction with subjects' levels of political sophistication, their emotional attachments to the metaphorical vehicle, and the social values implied by the metaphor. Results indicate that metaphors are not necessarily persuasive in and of themselves, but must interact with certain characteristics of the audience in order to be effective. These characteristics include the priority placed by the audience on certain social values communicated by the metaphor as well as individuals' emotional interactions with the metaphorical message. Results are used to reformulate a general theory of metaphor with respect to political persuasion and are evaluated in terms of their philosophical import to democratic theory.
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