A metaphor too far

Abstract

Metaphors influence the way we think. In a paper in PLoS ONE published today, Paul Thibodeau and Lera Boroditsky, psychologists at Stanford University in California, show that people approve of differing responses to crime when it is presented as either a 'beast' or a 'virus' ravaging society1. In the former case they are most likely to call for strong law enforcement, whereas in the latter they are more open to solutions such as rehabilitation and the understanding of root causes.