Life is a Battlefield: Conceptualizations of Life among Hungarian Adults

This study attempts to investigate how Hungarians think about life. By applying a nationwide representative survey of Hungarian adults, we wished to answer the following two research questions: a) what are the major metaphorical conceptualizations of life among Hungarians?; and b) what factors, such as socio-economic status and basic value orientations, might influence the prevalence for the metaphors used to talk about life? Our results suggest that there are considerable generational differences: while the negative mindset (in the form of more negative metaphors) is still common within the older generation, there is a shift towards a more positive and more “American” conceptualization of life among younger people in Hungary.