# Even Dogs Feel the Bouba-Kiki Effect *Science · Science Desk · Published 2026-11-08T11:40:13Z* Canonical: https://amk.news/article/even-dogs-feel-the-bouba-kiki-effect > Research from the University of Parma shows that dogs, like humans, intuitively associate round shapes with 'bouba' and spiky shapes with 'kiki.' This discovery suggests that cross-modal sound symbolism may be a more primitive and widespread cognitive trait than previously believed. ## Key points - Researchers Eleonora Biffi and Giulia Pedretti led a study at the University of Parma examining sound symbolism in dogs. - Seventy adult dogs participated in the study published on October 14, 2026, in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. - Eleonora Biffi and Giulia Pedretti utilized an artificial intelligence model named YOLOv8 to objectively interpret canine head orientation during testing. - German psychologist Wolfgang Köhler originally established the historical basis for shape and sound associations in his 1929 work on Gestalt psychology. In a controlled behavioral laboratory at the University of Parma, dogs have demonstrated a surprising aptitude for sound symbolism. Within a three-by-four-meter testing room, a partition divides the space, with two screens mounted on either side. One displays a soft, rounded black blob, while the other shows a jagged black star. As an automated speaker plays either the nonsense word "bouba" or "kiki" repeatedly, overhead cameras track the direction of the subject's gaze.[1](#dipnot-1) In a study conducted by Eleonora Biffi and Giulia Pedretti, 70 adult dogs participated in this testing. According to findings published on October 14, 2026, in *Proceedings of the Royal Society B*, dogs spent significantly longer looking at the round shape when hearing "bouba," and prioritized the spiky shape when hearing "kiki."[1](#dipnot-1)[2](#dipnot-2) **Key Research Highlights:** - A large-scale test across 25 languages revealed distinct patterns in human phonetic-shape associations, with some populations showing unexpected variations. - To rule out subtle behavioral cues from owners, researchers utilized headphones and distracting audio to isolate the dogs' responses. - Dogs exhibited a preference for spiky shapes that was not present in similar tests with infants or chicks; researchers offer three potential evolutionary explanations. - While chimpanzees and gorillas failed to show these matching patterns in previous tests, day-old chicks demonstrated a similar propensity. ## What is the history behind the Bouba-Kiki effect? The history of the Bouba-Kiki effect began with German psychologist Wolfgang Köhler. In his 1929 work on Gestalt psychology, he presented readers with two shapes, asking which should be called "takete" and which "baluba." Most respondents identified the jagged shape as "takete." Later editions replaced these with "maluma." The modern terminology was formalized in 2001 by neurologist Vilayanur Ramachandran and Edward Hubbard.[3](#dipnot-3)[4](#dipnot-4) For decades, researchers debated if this was merely a byproduct of orthography, as the letters in "kiki" appear angular while those in "bouba" are rounded. In 2022, linguist Aleksandra Ćwiek and her team tested this hypothesis. They played the two sounds for 917 participants speaking 25 different languages and utilizing 10 unique writing systems. On average, 72 percent of participants made the expected association, with negligible differences between those using the Latin alphabet and those who did not.[5](#dipnot-5) While some languages showed deviations in these trends, the consistency of the result across cultures suggested a fundamental link between sound and shape that transcends language. The audio recordings used in the Parma dog study were provided by Ćwiek, specifically chosen for their distinct phonetic profiles; "kiki" registers in the high-frequency range, whereas "bouba" remains in the low-frequency range.[1](#dipnot-1) ## How was artificial intelligence used to interpret the dogs' behavior? The research team employed artificial intelligence, specifically the object detection model YOLOv8, to interpret the dogs' behavior. After training the model on 280 manually annotated frames to identify canine head orientation, the software mapped an ellipse around each dog's head to calculate the vector of their gaze. This method allowed the researchers to process over 91 percent of the recorded footage objectively, circumventing the need for human observers to interpret subtle head turns.[1](#dipnot-1) _A frame from the first experiment: the dog turns toward the round shape on the left while "bouba" plays. Image: Biffi et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2026), Figure 5, CC BY 4.0_ Across four trials per subject, dogs spent an average of 5.8 seconds out of each 20-second window observing the screens. When "bouba" played, approximately 56 percent of their gaze was directed toward the rounded figure; when "kiki" played, about 63 percent of their gaze shifted to the spiky figure. While these margins appear modest, they are statistically significant, providing strong evidence that even domestic dogs possess a cross-modal cognitive ability to map phonetic sounds to visual geometry.[1](#dipnot-1)[6](#dipnot-6) ## Notes and Sources - Biffi, E., Pedretti, G., Normando, S., Lazebnik, T., Loconsole, M., Valsecchi, P. (2026). Hearing shapes: the Bouba–Kiki effect in adult domestic dogs. *Proceedings of the Royal Society B*, 293(2080), 20261209. [doi:10.1098/rspb.2026.1209](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.1209) - Università di Parma (2026). Effetto Bouba-Kiki: anche per i cani i suoni hanno una "forma". Press release, October 14, 2026. - Köhler, W. (1929). *Gestalt Psychology*. New York: Liveright. Revised edition: 1947. - Ramachandran, V. S., Hubbard, E. M. (2001). Synaesthesia: a window into perception, thought and language. *Journal of Consciousness Studies*, 8(12), 3-34. - Ćwiek, A., Fuchs, S., Draxler, C. et al. (2022). The bouba/kiki effect is robust across cultures and writing systems. *Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B*, 377(1841), 20200390. - Woodford, J. (2026). Dogs are susceptible to the bouba-kiki effect. *New Scientist*, October 14, 2026. - Pfungst, O. (1911). *Clever Hans (The Horse of Mr. von Osten)*. New York: Henry Holt. - Loconsole, M., Benavides-Varela, S., Regolin, L. (2026). Matching sounds to shapes: evidence of the bouba-kiki effect in naïve baby chicks. *Science*, 391(6787), 836-839. - Margiotoudi, K., Allritz, M., Bohn, M., Pulvermüller, F. (2019). Sound symbolic congruency detection in humans but not in great apes. *Scientific Reports*, 9, 12705. - Margiotoudi, K., Bohn, M., Schwob, N. et al. (2022). Bo-NO-bouba-kiki: picture-word mapping but no spontaneous sound symbolic speech-shape mapping in a language trained bonobo. *Proceedings of the Royal Society B*, 289, 20211717. - Fort, M., Schwartz, J.-L. (2022). Resolving the bouba-kiki effect enigma by rooting iconic sound symbolism in physical properties of round and spiky objects. *Scientific Reports*, 12, 19172. --- Source: AMK News (https://amk.news). Reuse requires attribution and a link to the canonical URL.