From vice · Luis Prada · · 40s
Dogs Share Human Brain Quirk With Sound Shapes
Dogs and humans both associate 'bouba' with rounded shapes and 'kiki' with spiky ones, new study shows.
In brief
Dogs and humans both associate 'bouba' with rounded shapes and 'kiki' with spiky ones, new study shows. Dogs and humans share a brain quirk linking sounds to shapes, suggesting similar sensory wiring across species. Originally reported by vice.
Bouba-Kiki Effect
Dogs and humans both link 'bouba' to rounded shapes and 'kiki' to spiky shapes.
“bouba feels soft and rounded, while kiki feels sharp and spiky”
Study Finds Dogs Share Quirk
Researchers tested 51 dogs and their humans to see if they share the bouba-kiki brain quirk.
“When bouba played, dogs lingered on rounded shapes; when kiki dropped, they stared harder at spiky shapes”
Owners Don't Influence Results
Dogs showed same preference when owners wore headphones blasting rock music.
“The results stayed the same when owners wore headphones blasting rock music”
The one thing
Dogs and humans share a brain quirk linking sounds to shapes, suggesting similar sensory wiring across species.
