Abstract
This study examined how children understand the function of emotional similes. An emotional simile has the function of clearly and effectively transmitting speakers' emotions to others. It was verified first that adults correctly recognize this function. To examine whether children can also understand the function of an emotional simile, 265 elementary school students, including 91 2nd graders (36 boys and 55 girls), 78 4th graders (30 boys and 48 girls), and 96 6th graders (48 boys and 48girls) took part in this study. Children read stories in which the main character had an emotion (happiness, sadness, or anger), and then answered this question: "What will the main character say in order to transmit his/her emotion clearly and effectively to other people?" There were no grade-level differences in understanding of the function of emotional similes, but older children more often used emotional similes when they expressed their own emotions than did younger children. The results suggest that the basis for understanding the function of emotional similes is attained during childhood.
