The raw and the (over)cooked

Researchers have long recognized the role of metaphor in conceptualizing states. We contribute to research on the conceptualization of state concepts in two ways. First, we identify a not-yet-recognized metaphor system commonly used to conceptualize states: states are physical qualities. We contend that states are physical qualities is an elaboration of the image-schematic states are locations metaphor, with a higher degree of specificity, affording entailments not supported by states are locations. After introducing the physical qualities metaphor system, we examine the function of states are physical qualities in the social world, finding that people use it to evaluate objects across many domains. Specifically, there is a significant distinction between two prototypical physical qualities – processed and unprocessed – used to conceptualize socially salient state differences, with “cooking” as the prototypical form of processing. Particularly in the domain of aesthetic evaluation, this is seen in the metaphor authentic is unprocessed. In practical domains such as sports and science, this is seen in the metaphor developed is processed. In all these cases, the evaluation of people and objects is grounded in the perception of their states, comprehended as physical qualities.