War metaphors for cancer hurt certain prevention behaviors
Monday, December 15, 2014 - 17:00
in Psychology & Sociology
It's not unusual for people to use war metaphors such as "fight" and "battle" when trying to motivate patients with cancer. "Hearing metaphoric utterances is enough to change the way we think about a concept," said the study's lead investigator. "When we hear the phrase 'win the battle against cancer,' it forces us to think of cancer as if it's an enemy that we are at war with."