These Celebrity Men Are Either "Bouba" Or "Kiki," And I Want To Know Where You Stand

Austin Butler just screams "kiki" to me. If you get it, you get it.

I had never heard about the "bouba-kiki effect" until this viral TikTok made its way onto my For You page last night. The video, posted by @talialichtstein, explains that people associate the words "bouba" and "kiki" with these different shapes.

@talialichtstein / Via tiktok.com

The effect was first identified by Wolfgang Köhler in his 1929 book Gestalt Psychology. In a study, when presented with a rounded shape and a spiky shape and asked which one was the “bouba,” the majority of respondents pointed to the rounded shape. When asked which one was the “kiki,” most people pointed to the spiky shape. Essentially, people perceive a correlation between the spoken words and the visual properties of the shapes.

Instead of shapes, Talia has applied this to celebrities. "I have always felt that there are people who are either bouba or kiki, and the men I find the most attractive are always bouba and NEVER kiki," she says in the video. Talia then shows a photo of Robert Pattinson and explains, "This is so kiki. He has always been so kiki."

@talialichtstein / Jason Merritt / Getty Images

Then pops up a photo of Michael B. Jordan: "This is bouba. He's very sculpted, he's conventionally hot, but he's bouba."

@talialichtstein / Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images / Via tiktok.com

The basic essence of the TikTok is, "If you get it, you get it. If you don't, you don't."

So let's see if you get it! Are these celebrity men more bouba or kiki? Answer below!

You can watch Talia's TikTok below and follow @talialichtstein. The more you know! 💫

@talialichtstein

♬ original sound - Talia Lichtstein