Chapter 1
Bouba-Kiki
Cross-domain resonance and the origins of synesthesia, metaphor, and words in the human mind
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Zeve Marcus, and Chaipat Chunharas
Department of Psychology and Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, CA, United States
Abstract
We begin with sound-form symbolism (the “Bouba-Kiki effect”) and point out its relevance to a wide range of psychological phenomena such as (1) the origin of words, (2) cross-sensory metaphors (e.g., the “loud”-ness of a shirt and the “sharp”-ness of cheese), conceptual metaphors (“Juliet is the sun”), and (3) sensory-motor congruence exemplified by the mirror neuron system. We suggest that these diverse aspects of the mind involve ...
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