Construal and Similarity in Conceptual Combination

Current views of conceptual combination postulate that novel phrases are interpreted by linking one constituent to another via a relation. For example, robin snake might be interpreted as “a snake that eats robins. ” Two studies examined the generality of this relation linking view by examining interpretations of novel noun–noun combinations. The results provide support for the relation linking view but suggest other ways that novel phrases are interpreted. In particular, the first study suggested that people commonly use a strategy called property mapping, in which they assert that a property of the modifier concept is true of the head noun, e.g., interpreting robin snake, as “a snake with a red underbelly. ” A second study showed that high similarity between the two nouns strongly predicts when people will map properties. I propose an extension to current models of conceptual combination in which property mapping is carried out by a comparison process. © 1996 Academic Press, Inc. Conceptual combination involves accessing two or more concepts and determining how they fit together to form a new concept. For example, to understand a novel phrase like elephant tie, one might combine the concepts elephant an