Proverbial Understanding in a Pictorial Context

Abstract

HONECK, RICHARD P.; SOWRY, BRENDA M.; and VOEGTLE, KATHERINE. Proverbial Understanding in a Pictorial Context. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1978, 49, 327-331. A review of the literature suggests that children cannot understand proverbs until age 12 or so. This conclusion was challenged on the grounds that previous studies have introduced debilitating information processing loads or have required that children verbally interpret the proverbs, an invalid procedure in our opinion. To minimize or eliminate these problems, 7-, 8-, and 9-year-olds' understanding of proverbs was examined by having the subjects compare each proverb against 2 thematic pictures-a nonliteral correct interpretation of the proverb and a foil. The results, which contradict the literature, and a recent review of it, showed consistent above-chance performance across subjects, ages, and proverbs. Apparently, the pictures not only helped reduce task-induced processing loads but also served as a contextual framework -for organizing the common figurative meaning of both picture and proverb.