You see a small baby and, based on the color of the baby's blanket, decide whether it's a boy or a girl. It's common knowledge that pink is for girls and blue is for boys. But have you ever wondered why? Why is it that boys prefer blue and girls pink?
A study shows that men and women have natural color preferences. Blue is the overall favorite for both, but women prefer a redder or more pinkish shade of blue than men.
Researchers say this predilection for pinker hues may have evolved because of women's traditional role as the gatherer, allowing them to pick out the red, ripe fruit from a sea of green in the forest.
"Evolution may have driven females to prefer reddish colors -- reddish fruits, healthy, reddish faces," says researcher Anya Hurlbert of Newcastle University, England, in a news release. "Culture may exploit and compound this natural female preference."
Researchers say this predilection for pinker hues may have evolved because of women's traditional role as the gatherer, allowing them to pick out the red, ripe fruit from a sea of green in the forest.
"Evolution may have driven females to prefer reddish colors -- reddish fruits, healthy, reddish faces," says researcher Anya Hurlbert of Newcastle University, England, in a news release. "Culture may exploit and compound this natural female preference."
The researchers and neuroscientists assembled 206 test subjects of both sexes between the ages of 20 and 26 for the study. The subjects sat before a computer while two rectangles of different colors flashed on the screen. For the purpose of the study, the neuroscientists divided the color spectrum into two halves, red-green and blue-yellow. The rectangles were sorted into these two categories.
The researchers asked participants to quickly choose which rectangle they preferred, and then the computer moved on to another set of rectangles. The findings from the experiment showed that men and women both preferred blue out of this set of basic colors.
When given mixed colors to choose from, the male population of the study showed a wide preference for color blends. But when the women were asked to choose from mixed colors, they tended to prefer colors that moved away from blue and toward the red end of the spectrum, where shades like pinks and lilacs are found. The scientists concluded that the long-held distinction of color preferences among genders had a real basis.
But why? Couldn't these results be due to the participants being raised in a culture where blue is for boys and pink for girls?
When given mixed colors to choose from, the male population of the study showed a wide preference for color blends. But when the women were asked to choose from mixed colors, they tended to prefer colors that moved away from blue and toward the red end of the spectrum, where shades like pinks and lilacs are found. The scientists concluded that the long-held distinction of color preferences among genders had a real basis.
But why? Couldn't these results be due to the participants being raised in a culture where blue is for boys and pink for girls?
The researchers says that color preferences among the sexes have a biological basis rather than a cultural one.
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