Colors are also used by children to discriminate between objects. Children function better in activities where they have chosen the color of the objects they use in the activity. Isaacs (1980) studied color preference and its effects on ball catching. He found that children, when catching balls of different colors, tended to catch the ball of the color they had previously chosen better than other colors. Thus, by letting children choose an object's color in fine motor skills tasks such as ball catching, color improves performance. Cockerill and Miller (1983) tested the effect of color on motor skill performance. When children wore their choice of colored goggles while performing pegboard tests, they performed more accurately and at a quicker pace than while wearing non-preferred colored goggles.
In examining all the ways children use colors in decision making and in performance, researchers have not been able to agree whether the majority of children collectively favor one color over any others. When Bourgeois-Bailetti and Cerbus (1977) researched color associations of preschool children as related to mood, they found that the color red is chosen as a preferred color more often than any other color regardless of mood influences. Palmer (1973) also found that red was chosen most often regardless of children's age or race. Eysenck (1941), as reported in Vandewiele, D'Hondt, Didillon, Iwawake, Mwamwenda (1986), found that children show a general preference for the color blue. Some research indicates the way children form color preferences may be directly related to the environmental cues society has related to their sex.
Sexual perceptions of color preference such as pink is for girls and blue is for boys is present in all our lives. Boyatzis and Varghese (1994) reported this color adage is used by parents to convey sex information in their children's environments. Advertisers realize these sexual color preferences of parents and use them in their marketing strategies everyday (Picariello, Greenberg, & Pillemer, 1990). From day one, children are bombarded with these sexually specific colors.
Adults use this information to define the sex of babies and small children before it is outwardly obvious. Not only adults use color as a sex defining mechanism. Children use one's clothing color as one factor of sex determination even before they have a basic knowledge of the biological differences between the sexes (Picariello, Greenberg, & Pillemer, 1990). Children are familiar with the implications portrayed by color.
If children rely on colors heavily enough to use them for measures of definement and judgment, then it is important to know how they form their choice of favorite colors. It is also important to know if their formation of color preference is based on their own thoughts or what they learn from others and at what age this formation is salient and not discriminable.
This study is designed to investigate whether or not preschool aged children choose preferred colors based on traditional stereotypical colors or based on situational factors. In addition, this study will also look at whether or not preschool aged children's favorite color is a traditional stereotypical color.
I used a data collection instrument. The instrument had the following information: testing condition, child's sex, race and age; child's favorite color, child's choice of preferred color for themselves and what color they thought a child of the opposite sex would prefer prior to and after testing.
Variations of 4 stories and 4 illustrations were used. The story used is as follows:
Once upon a time there was a little boy/girl. The little boy's/girl's favorite color was blue/pink and everything he/she had was blue/pink.
All the little boy's/girl's clothes were blue/pink, his/her pants were blue/pink, his/her shirts were blue/pink and even his/her socks were blue/pink. The little boy/girl slept in a blue/pink room in a blue/pink bed and he/she wore blue/pink pajamas. His/Her pet dog slept on a blue/pink pillow and wore a blue/pink ribbon.
At school, the little boy/girl used a blue/pink pencil and blue/pink crayons. He/She took his/her lunch in a blue/pink lunch box. On cold days the little boy/girl wore a blue/pink coat and blue/pink boots to school. On windy days, the little boy/girl wore a blue/pink scarf.
At night the little boy/girl went to bed in his/her blue/pink bed after drinking water from a blue/pink cup. He/She slept with a blue/pink teddy bear. The little boy/girl dreamt about the color blue/pink because the little boy's/girl's favorite color was blue/pink.
Each variation consisted of sex and color associations and followed the above story line. The associations are as follows: boy/blue, boy/pink, girl/blue and girl/pink.
Each of the 4 story variations were illustrated with a computer generated generic picture depicting the sex of the child in the story dressed in the color the child is associated with in the story.
Construction paper in the colors of pink, blue and white cut into 4" x 4" squares was used for children to select color preferences for themselves and children of the opposite sex prior to and after testing.
Research was done in a room separate from the other children, in the presence of a licensed child care provider, an employee of Head Start, and with one group of three or four children at a time. Each group of children was asked by the researcher to sit on the floor with her. Each child was individually asked their age and favorite color. They were then presented with colored paper squares, one pink, one blue and one white and asked to pick which one they liked the best and asked to pick which one they thought a child of the opposite sex would like the best.
The researcher then read the group one story and showed them the corresponding illustration. Again, individually, each child was presented with the same paper squares and asked to pick which one they liked the best and which one they thought a child of the opposite sex would like the best.
A separate data collection instrument was used for each child and each response they made was recorded by the child care provider who was present during research. The child care provider also noted each child's sex and race on the instrument. The researcher provided the worker with instructions on how to fill out the instrument and checked recorded answers after each group to ensure correctness.
These procedures were repeated until all the children were tested. Fourteen children were in the boy/blue testing condition, 13 children were in the boy/pink testing condition, 12 children were in the girl/blue testing condition and 11 children were in the girl/pink testing condition.
A Chi-Square test of independence was done to examine whether children's age influenced favorite color choices, Chi-Square (18) = 22.38, p. > .05 indicating a non-significant relationship. A Chi-Square test of independence was also done to examine whether children's race influenced favorite color choices, Chi-Square (9) = 8.31, p. > .05 indicating a non-significant relationship. Children's age and race did not influence their favorite color choices.
A Chi-Square test of independence was done to examine whether children's choice of color preference for themselves prior to testing was influenced by their sex, Chi-Square (2) = 9.94, p. < .01, indicating a significant relationship. The child's sex did influence color preference between pink, blue and white in children prior to testing; specifically 47% of the boys chose blue and 68.8% of the girls chose pink.
A Chi-Square test of independence was done to examine whether children's choice of color preference for a child of the opposite sex prior to testing was influenced by their sex, Chi-Square (2) = 13.6, p. < .01, indicating a significant relationship. The child's sex did influence what they chose as a color preference between pink, blue and white for a child of the opposite sex prior to testing; specifically 58.8% of the boys chose pink as a preference for girls and 62.5% of the girls chose blue as a preference for boys.
A Chi-Square test of independence was done to examine whether children's choice of color preference for themselves after testing was influenced by their sex, Chi-Square (2) = 7.17, p. < .01, indicating a significant relationship. The child's sex did influence color preference between pink, blue and white in children after testing; specifically 44.1% of the boys chose blue and 75% of the girls chose pink.
A Chi-Square test of independence was done to examine whether children's choice of color preference for a child of the opposite sex after testing was influenced by their sex, Chi-Square (2) = 11.17, p. < .01, indicating a significant relationship. The child's sex did influence what they chose as a color preference between pink, blue and white for a child of the opposite sex after testing; specifically 58.8% of the boys chose pink as a preference for girls and 68.8% of the girls chose blue as a preference for boys.
A Chi-Square test of independence was done to examine whether the children's color preference for themselves was influenced by the testing, Chi-Square (4) = 11.17, p. < .01, indicating a significant relationship. Testing did change their choice of color preference for themselves. Although 73.7% of children who chose pink and 61.1% of children who chose blue prior to testing chose the same color after testing, 61.6% of children who chose white prior to testing changed their preference to either pink or blue after testing.
A Chi-Square test of independence was done to examine whether the children's choice of color preference for a child of the opposite sex was influenced by the testing, Chi-Square (4) = 6.69, p. < .01, indicating a significant relationship. Testing did change their choice of color preference for a child of the opposite sex. Although 45.5% of children who chose pink and 66.7% of children who chose blue prior to testing chose the same color after testing, 76.9% of children who chose white prior to testing changed their choice of color preference for a child of the opposite sex to either pink or blue after testing.
A Chi-Square test of independence was also done to examine whether any specific testing condition influenced children's color preferences for themselves, Chi-Square (6) = 8.66, p. > .05, indicating a non-significant relationship. A Chi-Square test of independence was also done to examine whether any specific testing condition influenced children's color preferences for others, Chi-Square (6 ) = 6.42, p. > .05, indicating a non-significant relationship. No certain testing condition influenced the children's color preferences for themselves or others.
Please see Results Summary below for further clarification.
Favorite Color Choices
* Sex - does not significantly influence
* Age - does not significantly influence
* Race - does not significantly influence
Perferred Color Choices (Prior to Testing)
For Self
* Sex - significantly influences
For Others
* Sex - significantly influences
Perferred Color Choices (After Testing)
For Self
* Sex - significantly influences
* Testing - significantly influences
* Specific testing condition - does not significantly influence
For Others
* Sex - significantly influences
* Testing - significantly influences
* Specific testing condition - does not significantly influences
In the present study, although there was no significance found when comparing sex to favorite color choice, blue was chosen more often than any other color by boys and pink was chosen more often than any other color by girls. Red was chosen by boys and girls both as a fourth favorite color choice. These results are consistent with Eysenck 99141) in that blue was chosen frequently, however, no research has studied children of the age in this study of differences between what boy's versus what girl's favorite colors are. This research found that traditional stereotypes of color influence what color 3-5 year old children choose as their favorite.
Secondly, this study investigated whether or not preschool aged children choose preferred colors based on traditional stereotypical color associations or based on situational factors. There is no previous research in this area. The results of this study show that children's color preference for themselves and what children perceive a child of the opposite sex would choose as their preference, prior to and after testing, is significantly influenced by their sex. In other words, traditional stereotypical color associations, again pink is for girls and blue is for boys, heavily influence children's color preferences.
Color preferences were measured before and after testing to see if the story and illustration would change what the children chose. It did not change as expected. I did not expect color preferences to be as salient as they were. Over seventy-three percent of children choosing pink and 61.1% of children choosing blue as a preference for themselves prior to testing chose the same color after testing. Over forty five percent of children choosing pink and 66.7% of children choosing blue as a preference for others prior to testing chose the same color after testing.
The children that were heavily influenced by the story were the children who chose white as a preference for themselves or others prior to testing. After hearing the story, 76.9% of the children choosing white changed their answer to either blue or pink in both groups, preference for themselves and for others. This was a situational factor that changed the children's preferences, however, the situation elicited stereotypical changes in the children's preferences.
This study dealt with areas that have not previously been researched. When looking at how younger children are influenced into making choices about color, there are two things in this study that raise questions. First, several 3 year old children were participants. At age 3, it is hard to determine if they had an accurate knowledge of what was being asked of them. Secondly, groups of 3 or 4 children were participants were tested at the same time. Even though they were individually questioned, several children were paying attention to other children's responses and it is possible they were influenced by what the other's responses were. Future research should control for this.
I believe this study could be especially significant in the area of motor development of children. Previous research has found that when children are given a choice of color, they demonstrate better performance in task related situations where they use the color they chose. Isaccs (1980) found that children catch balls of chosen color better than balls of other colors. Cockerill and Miller (1983) found that children wearing goggles of a chosen color perform better on pegboard tests.
Preschool aged girls prefer the color pink and preschool aged boys prefer the color blue. This study, along with previous research, may implicate that 3-5 year old children would benefit by using objects that are pink and blue to refine their motor skill development. Future research should study the exposure of children to these colors in a variety of motor skill development tasks.