The Bouba-Kiki Effect

Which shape, a pointy and jagged polygon or a bulbous ameboid, would you name “bouba” and which would name “kiki?”  In most scientific research,  upwards of 90% of people will associate the pointy with “kiki” and the round with “bouba.” This worldwide phenomenon is known as the “Bouba-Kiki Effect” and has been recorded in many languages, and even with toddlers! Why we all have an uncanny knack for linking nonsensical visual and auditory stimuli isn’t clear,  but cognitive psychologists like Kelly McCormick have several likely theories.