Metaphor Made Me Do It

Why metaphors are an often overlooked design technique that belongs in your behavior change toolbox.

You're A Metaphorical Mastermind

You probably already know that persuading someone has little to do with what you say and much to do with how you say it. But persuasive communication is more than thoughtful word choice and emotional storytelling. One of your most persuasive tools isn't thoughtful at all — it's completely mindless. It's something you use unconsciously every day, whether you're speculating how high the stock market will go in 2021 or describing what it's like to be in love: Metaphor!

It's the same "metaphor" you learned about in second grade, but plot twist: metaphors aren't just figures of speech. Fundamentally, they're not even really features of language. The only reason you speak metaphorically is that you think metaphorically. Metaphors exist in the mind and are fittingly called conceptual metaphors.

Metaphor Basics

I'll spare you the deep dive. All you need to know is this: conceptual metaphors help us understand abstract concepts in terms of more tangible ones. For example, we might consider a RELATIONSHIP (highly abstract) as a JOURNEY (physical, concrete). This connection reflects how we speak:

💔 Marriage is a bumpy road

💔 Look how far we've come

💔 They've decided to go their separate ways

Metaphors Can Change Your Mind

Because metaphors are so deeply ingrained in human thought and communication, we can strategically use them to inspire behavior change. Metaphors frame the content of our thoughts by highlighting certain conceptual relations while downplaying others. Framing is so powerful; it can influence how we define problems, attribute causation, make moral judgments, and even make decisions.

A sampling of research shows that metaphors can influence:

Opinions about complex social issues

• Framing an urban crime problem as a virus infecting the city increased preferences for social reform while framing it as a beast preying on the city increased preferences for punitive solutions (like hiring police officers and building jails.)

Big (and small) health decisions

• Framing influenza as a beast, riot, army, or weed increased the willingness to get a flu vaccination.
• Framing fighting cancer as a battle (in a game for young cancer patients that simulated their battle against enemy cancer cells) improved treatment adherence.

Behavioral intentions

• Images framing an academic goal as a destination on a path increased students' intentions to work hard in class and take advantage of academic resources.

Who we blame

• If participants believed car crashes were caused by bad drivers, framing corporate bankruptcy as a vehicle accident made them blame the CEO for the company's failure.

Message targeting

• Framing an academic thesis requirement as a sports competition made sports enthusiasts evaluate the requirement more carefully. As a result, solid arguments persuaded them more in the messaging than people who were apathetic about sports.
• Latina participants who placed a higher value on the ideals of collectivism and familism were more persuaded by messaging framing the body as a family and a pap smear as an act of family support. It also increased their intentions to get a screening.

Bad Metaphors Can Backfire

A good metaphor can convert an intention into action. A bad metaphor can either be inert or completely backfire. For example, MEDICINE IS WAR dominates modern medical thought and discourse. We talk about "frontline" workers, asthma "attacks," and our immune system's ability to "defend" us. Generally, this militaristic metaphor highlights the power and aggressive action, which pairs well with target behaviors that require active engagement.

Unfortunately (for us), we try to "fight" cancer and "beat" diabetes, when really, what's often best is prevention. The latest breakthrough in dealing with type 2 diabetes? Not getting it at all. We don't need to take aggressive action; we must practice self-restraint and avoid risk factors. We also need to make small, daily lifestyle changes like improving our diets and getting more exercise over time.

In a 2014 study, participants read messages about cancer metaphorically framed in three ways: as an enemy, as an imbalance, and neutrally. They were asked about their intention to engage in various prevention behaviors. The enemy frame led to fewer intentions to engage in self-limiting prevention behaviors (like not smoking and limiting red meat) than the other frames. It also failed to increase intentions to engage in monitoring or treatment.

Science journalism employs the CANCER IS WAR metaphor more than any other conceptualization. The result? A potential preference for overly aggressive treatments. For patients, this metaphor can also be psychologically harmful. It can lead to feelings of defeat, weakness, and failure. Living or dying becomes about how hard the battle is fought, even though patients are not fully controlling the many factors that determine cancer outcomes.

Choosing The Right Metaphor

You're definitely already using metaphors. But how can you be sure they're helping people make better decisions? The key is knowing your target audience — one metaphor does not fit all. Analyzing how your audience speaks will give you privileged access to the metaphors guiding their beliefs and reasoning. Once you've identified them, you can:

Choose metaphors that are personally and culturally relevant

A given metaphor doesn't work the same for everyone. Whether it is successful or backfires is deeply dependent on a person's prior knowledge and associations.

Say you want to frame a lifestyle change program as a journey. Some people may associate journeys with exciting quests of self-discovery and have more positive perceptions of your program. Others may think of journeys as lengthy or arduous, making them less motivated to enroll.

It's critical to conduct research to understand your audience and test messages to make sure your metaphors match their existing mental models.

Avoid mixing metaphors

Mixing metaphors isn't just a conversational faux pas; it also makes your behavior change messaging less effective. Use the same metaphor to represent problems AND their solutions for maximum effectiveness.

For example, one study found that when they metaphorically framed depression as being physically down and an antidepressant as physically elevating, the antidepressant was perceived as more effective. This relationship was also the case when depression was framed as dark and the antidepressant as illuminating. These matching metaphors were more effective than either mismatched metaphors or no metaphor at all.

In conclusion…

I hope this article is your map for navigating the untamed wilderness of metaphor.

That it made clear the murky waters of using metaphor to inspire positive behavior change.

That it illuminated… well, you get the idea.

Metaphors rule your mind. They also (in all likelihood) guide your beliefs, intentions, and decisions. And as we learn more about human cognition and behavior, we can apply what we know to help ourselves and each other overcome the embittering gap between our (very good) intentions and our (very bad) behaviors. Metaphors are one powerful tool you can use to close this gap. So, if you want to inspire people to change their behavior, start by changing your metaphors.

About the author:

Sarah Thompson is a Behavioral Designer at Live Neuron Labs. In this role, she expertly applies behavioral insights to help people make better decisions. She also has a master’s degree in Cognitive Semiotics and is a certified Tiny Habits® Coach.