Martin Lindauer

Physiognomic properties refer to the nonliteral sensory, perceptual, and affective connotations evoked by an object: a mountain, for example, is big as well as “quiet, looming, and threatening.” In this study (N = 58), the three types of meanings carried by meaningless stimuli were examined. Four equally unfamiliar stimuli, which were either physiognomically evocative (maluma and taketa) or neutral, were rated on 15 perceptual, affective, and sensory scales. Taketa and maluma were distinguished on 21 of the 30 endpoints of the scales, whereas the neutral stimuli were distinguished on only 8. Subjects’ physiognomy and sex did not play a role. The implications of these findings are discussed.

In physiognomy, sensory, perceptual, and affective connotations are suggested by an object. For example, a mountain, in addition to being literally big, may also seem “quiet, looming, and threatening.” The capacity of physiognomically endowed but meaningless stimuli (like taketa and maluma) to transfer these meanings to similarly unfamiliar but neutral stimuli was examined on 15 perceptual, affective, and sensory rating scales (N = 118). The meanings of the two neutral stimuli were influenced in 26 instances (vs. 8 cases in which the neutral stimuli followed one other); most changes were affective and sensory rather than perceptual; and the shifts in meanings were noncongruent—taketa’s “aggressiveness,” for example, led to a “peaceful” rating of the two neutral shapes. The implications of these findings are discussed.