Cultural Components of Sex Differences in Color Preference

Jac T.M. Davis*, Ellen Robertson, Sheina Lew-Levy, Karri Neldner, Rohan Kapitany, Mark Nielsen, Melissa Hines

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Preferences for pink and blue were tested in children aged 4–11 years in three small-scale societies: Shipibo villages in the Peruvian Amazon, kastom villages in the highlands of Tanna Island, Vanuatu, and BaYaka foragers in the northern Republic of Congo; and compared to children from an Australian global city (total N = 232). No sex differences were found in preference for pink in any of the three societies not influenced by global culture (ds − 0.31–0.23), in contrast to a female preference for pink in the global city (d = 1.24). Results suggest that the pairing of female and pink is a cultural phenomenon and is not driven by an essential preference for pink in girls.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1574-1589
Number of pages16
JournalChild Development
Volume92
Issue number4
Early online date21 Jan 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Child Development published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Research in Child Development.

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Funding

Jac T. M. Davis was supported by a Gates Cambridge scholarship. Fieldwork in Vanuatu, Australia, and Peru was funded by Gates Cambridge, the University of Cambridge Department of Psychology, Clare College, the Commonwealth Australia Awards, and the Worts and Smuts Travelling Scholars’ Funds. Field site access costs were shared with the Queensland University of Technology Eyes on the Wild, Phase 1 (Peru) and the University of Queensland Department of Psychology (Vanuatu and Brisbane). Research coordination and translation were provided by Ronel Cairuna Garcia in Peru, and Beverline Mahana, Joe Narua, Numaline Mahana, Annie Loughman, Naoke Joseph, Robert, Selina, Mary, and Rachel in Vanuatu. We thank the Queensland Museum staff and patrons, Vanuatu Cultural Centre, and Tafea Cultural Centre, for their assistance in data collection. Funding for data collection in the Republic of Congo was provided to Sheina Lew-Levy by the Cambridge International Trust, the SSHRC Doctoral Scholarship (Award no. 752-2016-0555), and the Cambridge School of Biological Sciences Fieldwork Fund. From Congo, we would like to thank Prof. Clobite Bouka-Biona from IRSEN, who facilitated the acquisition of research permits and infrastructure, Dzabatou Moise, who served as a community liaison, and our field assistants, Mekouno Paul, Dambo Justin, and Dzabatou Ardain. Thanks as well to Sarah M. Pope and Adam H. Boyette for fieldwork support. Finally, thanks to the BaYaka families, the families of Caimito, Buenos Aires, Nuevo Loreto, and Nueva Yarina, Brisbane, and Ikunala and Yakel and surrounding villages, who shared their time with us. Jac T. M. Davis was supported by a Gates Cambridge scholarship. Fieldwork in Vanuatu, Australia, and Peru was funded by Gates Cambridge, the University of Cambridge Department of Psychology, Clare College, the Commonwealth Australia Awards, and the Worts and Smuts Travelling Scholars’ Funds. Field site access costs were shared with the Queensland University of Technology Eyes on the Wild, Phase 1 (Peru) and the University of Queensland Department of Psychology (Vanuatu and Brisbane). Research coordination and translation were provided by Ronel Cairuna Garcia in Peru, and Beverline Mahana, Joe Narua, Numaline Mahana, Annie Loughman, Naoke Joseph, Robert, Selina, Mary, and Rachel in Vanuatu. We thank the Queensland Museum staff and patrons, Vanuatu Cultural Centre, and Tafea Cultural Centre, for their assistance in data collection. Funding for data collection in the Republic of Congo was provided to Sheina Lew‐Levy by the Cambridge International Trust, the SSHRC Doctoral Scholarship (Award no. 752‐2016‐0555), and the Cambridge School of Biological Sciences Fieldwork Fund. From Congo, we would like to thank Prof. Clobite Bouka‐Biona from IRSEN, who facilitated the acquisition of research permits and infrastructure, Dzabatou Moise, who served as a community liaison, and our field assistants, Mekouno Paul, Dambo Justin, and Dzabatou Ardain. Thanks as well to Sarah M. Pope and Adam H. Boyette for fieldwork support. Finally, thanks to the BaYaka families, the families of Caimito, Buenos Aires, Nuevo Loreto, and Nueva Yarina, Brisbane, and Ikunala and Yakel and surrounding villages, who shared their time with us.

FundersFunder number
BaYaka families
Cambridge International Trust
Clare College
Tafea Cultural Centre
University of Queensland Department of Psychology
Vanuatu Cultural Centre
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada752‐2016‐0555
Queensland University of Technology
Gates Cambridge Trust

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