The Kiki-Bouba paradigm : where senses meet and greet

Journal Title: INDIAN JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH - Year 2016, Vol 3, Issue 3

Abstract

Humans have the ability to think in abstract ways. Experiments over the last 90 years have shown that stimuli from the external world can be evaluated on an abstract spectrum with ‘Kiki’ on one end and ‘Bouba’ on the other. People are in concordance with each other with respect to calling a jagged-edgysharp bordered two dimensional shape ‘Kiki’ and a curvy-smooth-round two dimensional shape ‘Bouba’..The proclivity of this correspondence is ubiquitous. Moreover, the Kiki-Bouba phenomenon seems to represent a non-arbitrary abstract connection between 2 or more stimuli. Studies have shown that crossmodal associations between and withinaudioception, opthalmoception, tactioception and gustatoception can be demonstrated by using Kiki-Bouba as a cognitive ‘convergence point’. This review includes a critical assessment of the methods, findings, limitations, plausible explanations and future directions involving the Kiki-Bouba effect. Applications include creating treatments and training methods to compensate for poor abstract thinking abilities caused by disorders like schizophrenia and autism, for example. Continuing research in this area would help building a universal model of consciousness that fully incorporates cross-sensory perception at the biological and cognitive levels.

Authors and Affiliations

Aditya Shukla

Keywords

Related Articles

Impact of Academic Self Efficacy and Locus of Control on Academic Achievement of high school students

Education plays an important role to promote the fullest individual selfrealization for all persons. Various factors play role in academic achievement. The purpose of the study was to examine whether there is an impact o...

Adult Attachment Style and Marital Satisfaction – an exploratory study

Background: Marital satisfaction is an important element for successful family life and personal growth. Various factors have significant effects on the marital satisfaction, like financial management, personality issues...

Reliability and Validity of the NIMHANS Index of Specific Learning Disabilities

The present study, aims to establish the reliability and validity of the NIMHANS Index for Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) for a sample of children with SLD. The NIMHANS Index for Specific Learning Disabilities was...

Existential Psychotherapy – an overview

Existential psychotherapy is one of the most insightful and meaningful forms of psychotherapy available in clinical practice. It was presented to us by the psychotherapist Victor Frankl based on his experiences in the co...

Severity and Dimensions of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Family Accommodation: OCD severity and Family Accommodation

Background and Objectives: Family accommodation (FA) refers to ways in which family members assist the patient in the performance of rituals, compulsions, avoidance of anxiety provoking situations, or modification of dai...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP250446
  • DOI 10.30877/IJMH.3.3.2016.240-252
  • Views 346
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Aditya Shukla (2016). The Kiki-Bouba paradigm : where senses meet and greet. INDIAN JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH, 3(3), 240-252. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-250446