Title: Visual Shapes and Emojis Capture Aspects of Basic Tastes and Spiciness via Shared Connotative Meaning
Authors: Yuki Nishida, Miho Nishiguchi, Yurina Kawahara, Kazuya Matsubara, Mio Nishiyama, Kaori Asakawa, So Osawa, and Yuji Wada
Abstract:
When encouraged to do so, people associate visual symbols, such as shapes or emojis, with specific tastes or oral sensations, but the psychological mechanisms behind such associations remain poorly understood. One hypothesis is that shared connotative meaning, including evaluative and affective aspects, contributes to crossmodal correspondences, although it does not fully account for them. We examined whether and to what extent shared connotative meaning contributes to associations between tastes and symbols. In Experiment 1, participants rated the connotative meanings evoked by six solutions corresponding to the five basic tastes and spiciness, 36 computer-generated shapes, and 30 emojis using semantic differential (SD) scales. Multidimensional scaling was used to compute SD-space distances between each solution and symbol, identifying those closest to each solution. In Experiment 2, participants rated the aptness of each shape and emoji as a representation of the corresponding solution. While the shapes and emojis deemed closest to each sweet and spicy solution in Experiment 1 were consistently rated as the most apt representations, those for other solutions were not. A Bayesian regression model revealed that the SD-space distance predicted shape and emoji aptness ratings for sweet and spicy solutions. However, this predictive effect was weaker for salty, umami, and sour. This study provides a quantitative test of the role of shared connotative meaning in crossmodal correspondences. From the perspective of the emotional mediation account, these findings suggest that shared connotative meaning partly contributes to the formation of crossmodal correspondences, but only for taste-related sensations with a stronger affective tone.