Fig. 1.

Schematic sequence of first trial within a task block. After an initial fixation period a cue indicated whether participants should generate metaphors or synonyms (literal control task) in this block. In each trial, participants had 10 s to complete the sentence by generating a metaphor, or a synonym. Responses were given in the subsequent response period (5 s) indicated by the stimulus word changing its color to green. Trials were separated by jittered fixation periods.