A new study has found that phonetic symbolism or vowel sounds influence our perceptions about products.
A new study has found that phonetic symbolism or vowel sounds influence our perceptions about products.
The study, by researchers at the University of Texas, San Antonio, suggests that that product names with vowel sounds that transmit positive qualities about that product are considered more favourable by consumers.Phonetic symbolism refers to the concept that the sounds of words, apart from their assigned definition, convey meaning.
Previous research has shown that the two types of vowel sounds - front vowel sounds, for e.g. the sound of the letter “I” in mill and back vowel sounds, such as the “a” sound in mall – are associated with different concepts that are remarkably uniform, even across cultures.
Front vowel sounds convey small, fast, or sharp characteristics, while back vowel sounds convey large, slow, or dull characteristics.
“The implications of phonetic symbolism for brand names are relatively straightforward. If sounds do convey certain types of meaning, then perceptions of brands may be enhanced when the fit between the sound symbolism and the product attributes is maximized,” write authors Tina M. Lowrey and L. J. Shrum.
For their study, the researchers created fictitious brand names that varied only by one vowel sound (e.g. nillen/nallen). They then varied product categories between small, fast, sharp objects – such as knives or convertibles -- and products that are large, slow, and dull, such as hammers and SUVs. They asked participants to choose which of the word pair they thought was a better brand name for the product.
Advertisement
The researchers also tested a vowel sound that is generally associated with negative meaning (e.g., the “yoo” sound in the word “putrid”). Regardless of product category, words with this vowel sound were least preferred by consumers.
Advertisement
The study is published in the October issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.
Source-ANI
SRM /J