Laurent Weill (University of Strasbourg) - The Sounds of Trust: The Bouba-Kiki Effect in Political Leaders’ Names

BOFIT-seminaarit

BOFIT Seminar - Laurent Weill (University of Strasbourg) - The Sounds of Trust: The Bouba-Kiki Effect in Political Leaders’ Names

Abstract
Prior research has found evidence for the bouba-kiki effect according to which individuals associate sounds related to “bouba” and “kiki” with shapes and feelings. Using individual data from the World Values Survey, we investigate whether political leaders with names that sound “bouba” or “kiki” are associated with higher or lower trust. We first test whether the phonetic profile of organizational names influences trust. We find that organizations with “bouba” names are perceived as more trustworthy, whereas no consistent pattern emerges for “kiki” names. Building on this result, we examine whether the same sound symbolism extends to leaders’ names. We find that individuals are more likely to trust governments led by political leaders with “bouba” names. This extends research on sound symbolism into political economy, highlighting the influence of phonetic impressions on the perception of political leaders.

Online BOFIT seminars are open to all researchers interested in the subjects covered. The seminar will be recorded and the recording will be shared only with registered participants. Those wishing to attend a seminar are kindly asked to register in advance, by filling in the Online Registration Form.

The registration for the seminar is open until 9:00 am the day of the seminar. You will receive a link to join the seminar by email at the latest one hour before the seminar is scheduled to begin.