Nomina sunt consequentia rerum – Sound–shape correspondences with every-day objects figures

• Results confirm sound–shape correspondences extending them to every-day objects.
• Correspondences observed also when using figures of natural and artificial agents.
• In E2 we found that the category of the entities modulated the correspondences.
• An interaction of sound and category independent of shape was observed in adults.
• Results showed a difference for natural and artificial entities related to sounds.

Prior research on sound-symbolism has demonstrated the existence of sound–shape correspondences using ad hoc figures in double forced-choice paradigms. This led sound-symbolic skeptics to affirm that the reported effects were due to the properties of the figures shown or to the structure of the task used. In the present study, we hypothesized that the sound–shape correspondence effect would be observed when participants were required to choose which of two invented words would better suit an image representing a common object/entity. In addition, we hypothesized that the effect would be modulated by the object/entity category, and that natural objects would be represented with smoother shapes compared to artifacts. Results confirmed the “classic” takete–maluma effect both when participants chose a name for figures of natural objects (e.g., leaf) and artifacts (e.g., fork), and when they chose a name for figures of natural (e.g., animals) and artificial agents (e.g., robots). Moreover, when participants had to name agents, a modulation of the category (artificial vs. natural) emerged: sound–shape correspondence was not observed with robots, which were associated more often with jagged responses despite their actual shape. Results are discussed in the framework of embodied cognition theories.