Meet two shapes:

Which one do you think is Bouba and which one is Kiki?

You probably answered almost immediately.

And you’re probably correct:

Left is Kiki. Right is Bouba.

How did you know? And how did you know so quickly? And how did you know given it’s basically a made-up question about some made-up names for made-up shapes?

It’s not just you: it’s almost everyone.

In one study*, researchers found the same broad effect among speakers of 25 languages, spanning nine language families and ten different writing systems.

It seems to be about the relationship our brains create between sound and shape, rather than simply how the written words look. Bouba feels round when you say it. Kiki sounds spiky.

And that’s enough.

No data. No analysis or spreadsheets. Just most of the world’s population instinctively getting to the “right” answer – a perfect example of how our brains use feelings and emotions and sensations before our rational mind even kicks in. 

Of course, when it comes to serious things like investing, we’re much more sensible … right?

Source: tenors

 

Maybe a little bit.

A 2025 paper found that the median individual investor spent around six minutes researching a company before trading*, it’s tough to say we’re deep in the detail.

And the most popular things to look at were recent price charts and recent headlines. Not the balance sheets, or annual reports, or risk-return measures, but the surface stuff:

“that stock feels good”

“that sounds like a buy”

Emotion and instinct and feeling influence far more of our decisions than most of us realise – ignoring them isn’t possible.

Understanding them a little better is. And then we can start to manage them:

That was the idea behind Ben and Chris’s recent three-part Psychology of Investing webinar series: Catch up on Why Smart People Do Dumb Things, Unseen Influences and Trust Me, I’m a Planner here.

And it’s what sits behind lots of the stuff we think about, and will be talking about more and more.

 

*Disclaimer* This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at UK retail clients only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future. Data Source 7IM