Bouba & Kiki

Bouba & Kiki

Recently, one of my friends, Ranjit, introduced me to his two new puppies. Despite being the same size, they had strikingly different appearances. One had a round face and a curvy body, while the other was skinny with lots of spikes. Ranjit graciously allowed me to name them, and I chose Bouba and Kiki, names I had recently encountered in a training session. To my surprise, everyone, including Ranjit's family and social media friends, unanimously agreed that the round-faced puppy should be Bouba and the spiky one Kiki. This unanimity across diverse backgrounds intrigued me: how could everyone think the same way?

Intrigued by this unanimous agreement on the names, I began to delve into the psychology behind such associations.

Dr. Vilayanur Ramachandran’s Experiment

Dr.Vilayanur Subramanian Ramachandran is an Indian-American Scientist. Ramachandran is known for his wide-ranging experiments and theories in behavioral neurology, including the invention of the mirror box. He is a Distinguished Professor in UCSD’s Department of Psychology, where he is the director of the Center for Brain and Cognition. After earning a medical degree in India, Ramachandran studied experimental neuroscience at Cambridge, obtaining his PhD there. Most of his research has been in the fields of behavioral neurology and visual psychophysics.

In 2001, Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Edward Hubbard conducted an experiment using the words “Bouba” and “Kiki” and asked American college undergraduates and Tamil speakers in India “Which of these shapes is Bouba and which is Kiki?” In both groups, 95% to 98% selected the curvy shape as “Bouba” and the jagged one as “Kiki”, suggesting that the human brain somehow attaches abstract meanings to the shapes and sounds in a consistent way. From these experiments we can infer that people form uniform opinion based on shape and appearance.

Reflecting on Dr. Ramachandran's experiment, I started considering how our perceptions are influenced by external factors, including appearances.

Why not Judge a Book by Its Cover?

“Never judge a book by its cover”, is one of the popular sayings. But many a times it’s over-used or abused. People say that no one can be judged by their appearances. But in reality, a shabbily dressed person is never looked up. Even when someone is competent to perform a task, people reject him, if he is not properly dressed.

Even when we go to the library, many of us pick a book based on the cover and the look and feel of the book. We don’t have time to fully browse through the book and borrow it. We may give maximum weightage for the title of the book and the author’s history and reputation. Otherwise most of the time, the thing that attracts the reader is the cover of the book.

Dressing for First Impression

Dressing for success is important when the attention span of people is very less. Image at first instant is very vital. People judge you by the way you look on the outside.

The foundation of a positive patient–physician relationship rests on mutual trust, confidence and respect. Patients are not only more compliant when they perceive their doctors as being competent, supportive and respectful, but also more likely to discuss important information such as medication compliance, end-of-life wishes or sexual histories. Several studies have demonstrated that such relationships positively impact patient outcomes, especially in chronic, sensitive, and stigmatizing problems such as diabetes mellitus, cancer or mental health disorders. In the increasingly rushed patient–physician encounter, the ability to gain a patient’s confidence with the goal to optimize health outcomes has become a veritable challenge. Therefore, strategies that help in gaining patient trust and confidence are highly desirable. A number of studies have suggested that physician attire may be an important early determinant of patient confidence, trust and satisfaction. A more recent review reported that patients prefer formal attire and a white coat.

However, appearances aren't the only factor influencing our initial judgments; punctuality also plays a significant role.

Punctuality & Time Management

When you attend office in time, people would not explicitly appreciate you. But they form an opinion that you are a serious person. When attending meetings and conferences in time, people feel good about your respect for others. On the contrary, if a person is invariably late for meetings, people would never revere or respect them, however technically good they are. If being in time in a new gathering does not make you a great person, but being late in a new gathering would make an impression that you are a person who does not care about the system and processes. I always ensure that I am present at least 15 minutes before any event. There are multiple benefits of being earlier to an event. Thais reduces anxiety and stress if you are the presenter. You have enough time to network with people. The most important thing is that you make a positive first impression among the team.

Conclusion

These stories, experiments, and insights underscore the importance of first impressions in our lives. Whether it's associating sounds with shapes, evaluating individuals based on appearances, or valuing punctuality, our initial perceptions profoundly influence our interactions and decisions. Understanding the significance of first impressions is crucial. Adopting strategies to enhance them can help us navigate various social and professional situations more effectively. This understanding ultimately shapes the trajectories of our personal and professional lives. As leaders, recognizing the impact of these impressions is vital. It helps in building trust, fostering positive relationships, and inspiring confidence among our teams. This, in turn, cultivates an environment conducive to success.

First impression is an important aspect of both personal and professional life. Because, we never have a second chance to make a first impression.