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Children's gender and parents' color preferences
1Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA. pnc@umd.edu
Archives of Sexual Behavior
|March 30, 2012
Summary
Adults' gendered social environments, like the sex of their children, influence color preferences. Having sons, for example, can amplify existing gendered color choices in parents.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Gender Studies
Background:
- Gender differences in color preferences are well-documented but poorly understood.
- Previous research has not fully explored the impact of the adult social environment on these preferences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the gendered social environment in adulthood, specifically parental experience with children's sex, influences adult color preferences.
- To explore the social construction of gender in adulthood through color choices.
Main Methods:
- A natural experiment design was employed, using the gender of participants' children as a proxy for the adult gendered social environment.
- Data collected from 749 adults via an online survey asking about favorite colors.
- Statistical analysis examined the relationship between the sex of children and parental color preferences.
Main Results:
- Consistent with U.S. patterns, men predominantly preferred blue, while women preferred red, purple, and pink.
- Parents of only sons showed amplified gendered color preferences: men were more likely to prefer blue, and women less likely to prefer colors typically associated with women.
- A marginal effect indicated women with sons were more likely to prefer pink.
Conclusions:
- The gendered social context of adulthood significantly shapes adult color preferences, alongside potential genetic, biological, or child-socialization factors.
- Findings support the social construction of gender, demonstrating its influence on adult preferences beyond childhood socialization.
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