Abstract
Numerous studies show that names are non-arbitrarily assigned to objects. For instance, a well-researched phenomenon, the “Bouba-Kiki” effect, is that people believe certain names “fit” with certain shapes, for example, “round” names (pronounced with rounded mouth movements, such as “Bouba”) with round shapes. Five studies examined people’s reactions and attitudes toward shapes with congruent names (e.g., a round “Bouba”) relative to incongruent names (e.g., an angular “Bouba”). In Study 1 participants evaluated incongruent stimuli more positively in a questionnaire. In Studies 2-4, participants learnt the names of shapes, and subsequently favoured congruent stimuli on both explicit and implicit attitude measures. In Study 5, an exploratory analysis of affective experience using facial recognition software revealed that incongruent stimuli were responded to with more muscle activity. Interpretations and plausible psychological mechanisms for the results are discussed, along with suggestions to improve methodology. The findings have implications for product development, face naming, the evolution of language, and affective experience in everyday perception.