11 ms·

I don't get it? What's the significance of this? I thought the left one is bam/pow and the right one is a blob?

• GuB-42 5y ago
  It is a binary choice, either you call the left shape bouba and the right shape kiki, or you call the left shape kiki and the right shape bouba, you can't use any other name. The interesting part is that everyone gives the same answer, regardless of culture and language.
• alok99 5y ago
  From the article: Without being told which shape was which, > 95% to 98% selected the curvy shape as "bouba" and the jagged one as "kiki", suggesting that the human brain somehow attaches abstract meanings to the shapes and sounds in a consistent way So apart from visually impaired (from birth) people, we may have a pattern in mapping shapes to phonemes.
  • haecceity 5y ago
    Why did I choose something else??
    • rjmorris 5y ago
      I'm guessing because you misunderstood the question. The question in the research was something like, "Which one of these shapes is called 'bouba' and which is called 'kiki'?" There was no option to invent your own word.
  • saberdancer 5y ago
    My guess is that the shape of our mouth/tongue makes us choose "bouba" for the rounded shape.