title: Touching words is not enough: how visual experience influences haptic-auditory associations in the "Bouba-Kiki" effect.
abstract: Since Köhler's experiments in the 1920s, researchers have demonstrated a correspondence between words and shapes. Dubbed the "Bouba-Kiki" effect, these auditory-visual associations extend across cultures and are thought to be universal. More recently the effect has been shown in other modalities including taste, suggesting the effect is independent of vision. The study presented here tested the "Bouba-Kiki" effect in the auditory-haptic modalities, using 2D cut-outs and 3D models based on Köhler's original drawings. Presented with shapes they could feel but not see, sighted participants showed a robust "Bouba-Kiki" effect. However, in a sample of people with a range of visual impairments, from congenital total blindness to partial sight, the effect was significantly less pronounced. The findings suggest that, in the absence of a direct visual stimulus, visual imagery plays a role in crossmodal integration.
authors.affiliation: Goldsmiths College, University of London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: l.fryer@gold.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fryer
authors.affiliation: Goldsmiths College, University of London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.affiliation: Goldsmiths College, University of London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pring
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001766:Blindness / Q000151:congenital / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Blindness; Crossmodal integration; Sound symbolism; Touch