Metaphor analysis in vocational counselling: Moving from intuitive to reliable metaphor identification

Abstract

In this article, we introduce a metaphor identification method that can be readily applied to vocational psychology research and practice, and contextualised to explore the phenomenon of career at a deeper level of experience. We demonstrate a practically oriented Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit on an illustrative sample of student testimonials from higher education promotional videos from Australia and Norway. Metaphors as understood through conceptual metaphor theory have been shown to influence the attitudes and behaviours of the individual and organisation and channel the mindset of their audiences. In this article we extend the scholarly work on career metaphors and offer a reliable method for investigating metaphor in language and communication.