Researchers tested whether adult domestic dogs spontaneously connect the sounds “Bouba” and “Kiki” with rounded and spiky shapes. Dogs looked significantly more at the rounded shape when “Bouba” was played, while they looked at and explored the spiky shape when “Kiki” was played.
The researchers say this suggests that dogs have a spontaneous sound-shape association similar to the Bouba–Kiki effect described in humans. Together with earlier findings in newly hatched chicks, the result points to a cross-modal correspondence that may extend beyond language, although more research is needed to understand how it develops and what function it serves.
