A study conducted by Hulbert and Ling (2007) aimed to answer the question ‘why do girls prefer pink and boys prefer blue? Three experiments were conducted on 208 participants, 37 of the participants were a sub population of Han Chinese and the other 171 participants were British Caucasian. The three experimental tests all included comparisons of 8 different colours 90 of the participants (53 Britons and the Han Chinese) completed the study twice within a two week interval. It was predicted that colour preferences would be due to evolutionary sex specific behaviours.  

The journal article ‘Biological components of sex differences in colour preference’ is not representative of the article itself. The experimenters examined cross cultural differences by using the sub population of Chinese and comparing it to the British participants. Making no attempt to examine the biology behind colour preferences. For example, there was no study conducted in to why males choose blue like colours and why females choose red like colours and overall the article is misrepresented by the title given and the information that the article is going to contain.

The results from the three experiments showed that both females and males had a preference for blue like colours, and that females, unlike the males had a preference for reddish colours too. Hulbert and Ling (2007) argued that the preferences are a result of evolutionary behaviours but that the evidence is not strong enough to support these conclusions.  A further limitation of the results being that the design of the study (the experiments and participants used) did not test evolutionary innate behaviours and only tested the colours which participants had a stronger preference for and their reaction time to these colours.

After the study had been conducted the Times wrote an article stating the findings of the experiments accurately whilst discussing the study in terms of the findings found and the conclusions drawn. A limitation of the media article however is that it the results from the experiments were findings and proof of the evolutionary explanation instead of considering other interpretations, a reductionist view. The title of the article ‘At last, science discovers why blue is for boys but girls really do prefer pink’ is based upon the researchers speculation and not upon solid evidence.

To conclude it can be argued that neither the news report nor the journal article give an accurate explanation of the findings or the conclusions that were drawn from the experiments. It would of been more beneficial and useful if the conclusions found in the study were that cross cultural differences in sexes cause preference in colour, rather than evolutionary behaviours.

References

Hulbert, A. C. & Ling, Y. (2007) Biological components of sex differences in colour preferences. Current biology 17(16) R623-R625

Henderson, M. (2007, August 21) At last science discovers why blue is for boys but girls really do prefer pink. The Times