ABSTRACT
As most social psychologists know, Hovland and his associates studied factors involved in persuasion. Their studies identified four major components of a persuasive message: the speaker, the message, the medium of the communication, and the audience receiving the message. In their review of the attitude change literature, Chaiken and Stangor concluded that metaphors are particularly interesting linguistic devices in that they had the ability to combine both the central and peripheral routes of persuasion. The Metaphor Extension Hypothesis (MEH) suggests that metaphors are particularly effective when they extend a conversational partner's or debate opponent's metaphor. President Aquino's metaphorical response is a perfect example of such an extension. In the context of a political debate, metaphor extensions are more effective responses to an opponent's otherwise convincing metaphor. Thus, the metaphors were identified by political writers who were trying to encapsulate complex issues as opposed to politicians who were engaged in political debates with fellow politicians.
