Touching words is not enough: How visual experience influences haptic–auditory associations in the “Bouba–Kiki” effect

• Published in: Cognition Vol. 132; no. 2; pp. 164 - 173
• Main Authors: Fryer, Louise, Freeman, Jonathan, Pring, Linda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.08.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Auditory Perception - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blindness; Blindness - congenital; Blindness - psychology; Cognition; Crossmodal integration; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Language; Male; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Multimodal perception; Perception; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social integration; Sound symbolism; Speech Perception - physiology; Touch; Touch - physiology; Visual Acuity; Young Adult; Crossmodal integration; Touch; Blindness; Sound symbolism; Human; Word; Symbolism; Vision disorder; Cognition; Experimental study; Tactile sensitivity; Eye disease; Hearing; Language; Vision; Intermodal perception

•The “Bouba–Kiki” effect is thought to be universal for visual/auditory associations.•This study shows a robust effect for haptic/auditory associations in sighted people.•The effect was significantly weaker in blind and partially-sighted participants.•It suggests that a haptic/auditory “Bouba–Kiki”...