Abstract
Gender-typed color preferences are widely documented, and there has been increasing concern that they affect children’s play preferences. However, it is unclear whether such color preferences exist across cultures, how they have emerged, and how gender color-coding affects performance. Chinese preschoolers (n = 126) aged 59 to 94 months were tested. First, we assessed their gender-typed color preferences using forced-choice tasks with color cards and pictures of neutral toys in gender-typed colors. Second, we tested if gender labels could affect color preferences by labeling two gender-neutral colors as gender-typed and assessed children’s liking for them using a rating task and a forced-choice task with pictures of neutral toys in the labeled colors. Third, we assigned children a tangram puzzle (i.e., a puzzle using geometric pieces) painted either in the gender-appropriate or gender-inappropriate color and measured the number of pieces they completed and their speed. Results showed that Chinese children exhibited the same gender-typed color preferences as Western children did. Moreover, applying gender labels amplified a gender difference in color preferences, thus providing direct and strong evidence for the social-cognitive pathway underlying gender-typed preferences. Finally, color-coding as gender-appropriate or -inappropriate had no impact on performance but the gender labels improved boys’ performance. These results add to knowledge on how gender-related information affects children’s responses to the social world and suggest that the current gender color divide should be reconsidered.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, G. M. (2003). An evolutionary perspectives of sex-typed toy preferences: Pink, blue and the brain. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32, 7–14. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021833110722.
Ambady, N., Shih, M., Kim, A., & Pittinsky, T. L. (2001). Stereotype susceptibility in children: Effects of identity activation on quantitative performance. Psychological Science, 12, 385–390. https://doi.org/10.1111/ 1467-9280.00371.
Antill, J. K., Goodnow, J. J., Russell, G., & Cotton, S. (1996). The influence of parents and family context on children’s involvement in household tasks. Sex Roles, 34(3), 215–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544297.
Armenta, B. E. (2010). Stereotype boost and stereotype threat effects: The moderating role of ethnic identification. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(1), 94–98. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017564.
Arthur, A. E., Bigler, R. S., & Ruble, D. N. (2009). An experimental test of the effects of gender constancy on sex typing. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 104, 427–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2009.08.002.
Auster, C. J., & Mansbach, C. S. (2012). The gender marketing of toys: An analysis of color and type of type on the Disney store website. Sex Roles, 67, 375–388. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-012-0177-8.
Basow, S. A. (1992). Gender stereotypes and roles (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Bem, S. L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review, 88, 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.88.4.354.
Black, R. W., Tomlinson, B., & Korobkova, K. (2016). Play and identity in gendered LEGO franchises. International Journal of Play, 5, 64–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2016.1147284.
Blakemore, J. E. O., & Centers, R. E. (2005). Characteristics of boys' and girls' toys. Sex Roles, 53(9–10), 619–633. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-7729-0.
Caldera, Y. M., Huston, A. C., & O’Brien, M. (1989). Social interactions and play patterns of parents and toddlers with feminine, masculine and neutral toys. Child Development, 60, 70–76. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131072.
Casey, B. M., Andrews, N., Schindler, H., Kersh, J. E., Samper, A., & Copley, J. (2008). The development of spatial skills through interventions involving block building activities. Cognition and Instruction, 26, 269–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370000802177177.
Chattopadhyay, A., Gorn, G. J., & Drake, P. (2010). Differences and similarities in hue preferences between Chinese and Caucasians. In A. Krishna (Ed.), Sensory marketing: Research on the sensuality of products (pp. 219–239). New York: Taylor and Francis Group.
Chen, E. S. L., & Rao, N. (2011). Gender socialization in Chinese kindergartens: Teachers’ contributions. Sex Roles, 64, 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9873-4.
Cherney, I. D., & Dempsey, J. (2010). Young children’s classification, stereotyping, and play behavior for gender neutral and ambiguous toys. Journal of Educational Psychology, 30(6), 651–669. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2010.498416.
Cherney, I. D., & London, K. (2006). Gender-linked differences in the toys, television shows, computer games, and outdoor activities of 5-to 13-year-old children. Sex Roles, 54, 717–726. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9037-8.
Chiu, S. W., Gervan, S., Fairbrother, C., Johnson, L. L., Owen-Anderson, A. F. H., Bradley, S. J., … Zucker, K. J. (2006). Sex-dimorphic color preference in children with gender identity disorder: A comparison to clinical and community controls. Sex Roles, 55, 385–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9089-9.
Cohen, P. N. (2013). Children’s gender and parents’ color preferences. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42, 393–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9951-5.
Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., & Pfäfflin, F. (2003). Transgenderism and intersexuality in childhood and adolescence. London: Sage.
Cunningham, S. J., & Macrae, C. N. (2011). The colour of gender stereotyping. British Journal of Psychology, 102, 598–614. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2011.02023.x.
Davies, D. R. (1986). Children’s performance as a function of sex-typed labels. British Journal of Social Psychology, 25, 173–175. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.1986.tb00717.x.
Davies, D. R. (1989). The effects of gender-typed labels on children’s performance. Current Psychology: Research & Reviews, 8, 267–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686725.
Del Giudice, M. (2012). The 20th century reversal of pink-blue gender coding: A scientific urban legend? [letter to the Editor]. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 1321–1323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-0002-z.
Del Giudice, M. (2017). Pink, blue, and gender: An update. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46, 1555–1563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-1024-3.
Ellis, L., & Ficek, C. (2001). Color preferences according to gender and sexual orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 1375–1379. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00231-2.
Erdfelder, E., Faul, F., & Buchner, A. (1996). GPower: A general power analysis program. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 28(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203630.
Fagot, B. I., & Leinbach, M. D. (1989). The young child’s gender schema: Environmental input, internal organization. Child Development, 60, 663–672. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130731.
Fulcher, M., & Hayes, A. R. (2017). Building a pink dinosaur: The effects of gendered construction toys on girls’ and boys’ play. Sex Roles. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0806-3.
Gold, D., & Berger, C. (1978). Problem solving performance of young boys and girls as a function of task-appropriateness and sex-identity. Sex Roles, 4, 183–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287499.
Goldberg, S. (2017, January). Why we put a transgender girl on the cover of National Geographic. National Geographic: Gender Revolution. Retrieved from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/editors-note-gender/.
Green, V. A., Bigler, R., & Catherwood, D. (2004). The variability and flexibility of gender-typed toy play: A close look at children’s behavioral responses to counterstereotypic models. Sex Roles, 78, 371–386. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000049227.05170.aa.
Halim, M. L., & Ruble, D. (2010). Gender identity and stereotyping in early and middle childhood. In J. Chrisler & D. McCreary (Eds.), Handbook of gender research in psychology (pp. 495–525). New York: Springer.
Hargreaves, D. J., Bates, H. M., & Foot, J. M. C. (1985). Sex-typed labeling affects task performance. British Journal of Social Psychology, 24, 153–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8309.1985.tb00674.x.
Hidi, S. (2000). An interest researcher’s perspective: The effects of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on motivation. In S. Sansone & J. M. Harackiewicz (Eds.), Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: The search for optimal motivation and performance (pp. 309–339). San Diego: Academic Press.
Hines, M. (2010). Sex-related variation in human behavior and the brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14, 448–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2010.07.005.
Hurlbert, A. C., & Ling, Y. (2007). Biological components of sex differences in color preference. Current Biology, 17, 623–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2007.06.022.
Hyde, J. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581–592. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.581.
Ickes, W., Gesn, P. R., & Graham, T. (2000). Gender differences in empathic accuracy: Differential ability or differential motivation? Personal Relationships, 7, 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201276007.
Jadva, V., Hines, M., & Golombok, S. (2010). Infants’ preferences for toys, colors and shapes: Sex differences and similarities. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 1261–1273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-010-9618-z.
Jirout, J. J., & Newcombe, N. S. (2015). Building blocks for developing social skills: Evidence from a large, representative U. S. Sample. Psychological Science, 26, 302–310. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614563338.
Kane, E. W. (2006). “No way my boys are going to be like that!”: Parents’ responses to children’s gender nonconformity. Gender and Society, 20, 149–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243205284276.
Kohlberg, L. (1966). A cognitive-developmental analysis of children’s sex-role concepts and attitudes. In E. E. Maccoby (Ed.), The development of sex differences (pp. 82–173). Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Lee, J. F. K., & Collins, P. (2008). Gender voices in Hong Kong English textbooks—Some past and current practices. Sex Roles, 59, 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9414-6.
Lee, J., Lee, J. O., & Collins, D. (2009). Enhancing children's spatial sense using tangrams. Childhood Education, 86(2), 92–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2010.10523120.
Leinbach, M. D., Hort, B. E., & Fagot, B. I. (1997). Bears are for boys: Metaphorical associations in young children’s gender stereotypes. Cognitive Development, 12, 107–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2014(97)90032-0.
Li, R. Y. H., & Wong, W. I. (2016). Gender-typed play and social abilities in boys and girls: Are they related? Sex Roles, 74, 399–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0580-7.
Linn, M. C., & Petersen, A. C. (1985). Emergence and characterization of sex differences in spatial ability: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 56, 1479–1498. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130467.
LoBue, V., & DeLoache, J. S. (2011). Pretty in pink: The early development of gender-stereotyped colour preferences. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 29, 656–667. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-835X.2011.02027.x.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Maccoby, E. E., & Jacklin, C. N. (1974). The psychology of sex differences. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Martin, C. L., & Halverson, C. F. (1981). A schematic processing model of sex typing and stereotyping in children. Child Development, 52, 1119–1134. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129498.
Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. (2004). Children’s search for gender cues: Cognitive perspectives on gender development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 67–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00276.x.
Martin, C. L., Ruble, D. N., & Szkrybalo, J. (2002). Cognitive theories of early gender development. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 903–933. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.6.903.
Martin, C. L., DiDonato, M. D., Clary, L., Fabes, R. A., Kreiger, T., Palermo, F., … Hanish, L. (2012). Preschool children with gender normative and gender non-normative peer preferences: Psychosocial and environmental correlates. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 831–847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9950-6.
Masters, J. C., Ford, M. E., Arend, R., Grotevant, H. D., & Clark, L. V. (1979). Modeling and labeling as integrated determinants of children’s sex-typed imitative behavior. Child Development, 50, 364–371. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129411.
Montemayor, R. (1977). Children’s performance in a game and their attraction to it as a function of sex-typed labels. Child Development, 45, 152–156. https://doi.org/10.2307/1127761.
Mulvey, K. L., Miller, B., & Rizzardi, V. (2017). Gender and engineering aptitude: Is the color of science, technology, engineering, and math materials related to children’s performance? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 160, 119–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.03.006.
Paoletti, J. B. (1987). Clothing and gender in America: Children’s fashions, 1890-1920. Signs, 13, 136–143. https://doi.org/10.1086/494390.
Paoletti, J. B. (2012). Pink and blue: Telling the boys from the girls in America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Picariello, M. L., Greenberg, D., & Pillemer, D. B. (1990). Children’s sex-related stereotyping of colors. Child Development, 61, 1453–1460. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130755.
Pomerleau, A., Bolduc, D., Malcuit, G., & Cossette, L. (1990). Pink or blue: Environmental gender stereotypes in the first two years of life. Sex Roles, 22, 359–367. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288339.
Ruble, D. N., & Martin, C. (1998). Gender development. In W. Damon & N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional, and personality development (pp. 933–1016). New York: Wiley.
Ruble, D. N., Taylor, L. J., Cyphers, L., Greulich, F. K., Lurye, L. E., & Shrout, P. E. (2007). Effect of gender constancy on age-related changes in gender beliefs. Child Development, 78, 1121–1136. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01056.x.
Saito, M. (1994). A cross-cultural study on color preference in three Asian cities: Comparison between Tokyo, Taipei and Tianjin. Japanese Psychological Research, 36(4), 219–232. https://doi.org/10.4992/psycholres1954.36.219.
Saito, M. (1996). A comparative study of color preferences in Japan, China, and Indonesia, with emphasis on the preference for white. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 83, 115–128. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1996.83.1.115.
Serbin, L. A., Powlishta, K. K., & Gulko, J. (1993). The development of sex typing in middle childhood. Monographs of the Society of Research in Child Development, 58(2), 1–74. https://doi.org/10.2307/1166118.
Shih, M., Ambady, N., Richeson, J. A., Fujita, K., & Gray, H. M. (2002). Stereotype performance boosts: The impact of self-relevance and the manner of stereotype activation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 638–647. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.83.3.638.
Shih, M., Pittinsky, T. L., & Ambady, N. (1999). Stereotype susceptibility: Identity salience and shifts in quantitative performance. Psychological Science, 10, 80–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00111.
Spencer, S. J., Steele, C. M., & Quinn, D. M. (1999). Stereotype threat and women's math performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35, 4–28. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.1998.1373.
Sprafkin, C., Serbin, L. A., Denier, C., & Connor, J. M. (1983). Sex-differentiated play: Cognitive consequences and early interventions. In M. B. Liss (Ed.), Social and cognitive skills: Sex roles and child’s play (pp. 167–192). New York: Academic Press.
Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 797–811. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797.
Stein, A., Pohly, S., & Mueller, E. (1971). The influence of masculine, feminine and neutral tasks on children’s achievement behavior, expectancies of success and attainments values. Child Development, 42, 195–207. https://doi.org/10.2307/1127075.
Sweet, E. V. (2013, August). Same as it ever was? Gender and children's toys over the 20th century. Paper presented at the 108th annual American Sociological Association meeting in New York, NY.
Taylor, C., Clifford, A., & Franklin, A. (2013). Color preferences are not universal. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142(4), 1015–1027. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030273.
Thomas, R. M. (1999). Human development theories: Windows on culture. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Van Yperen, N. W. (2003). Task interest and actual performance: The moderating effects of assigned and adopted purpose goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(6), 1006–1015. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.6.1006.
Voyer, D., Voyer, S., & Bryden, M. P. (1995). Magnitude of sex differences in spatial abilities: A metal-analysis and consideration of critical variables. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 250–270. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.117.2.250.
Wachman, R. (2012, March). Lego’s profits rise as it thinks pink. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/mar/01/lego-profits-rise-pink.
Weisgram, E. S., Fulcher, M., & Dinella, L. M. (2014). Pink gives girls permission: Exploring the roles of explicit gender labels and gender-typed colors on preschool children’s toy preferences. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 35, 401–409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2014.06.004.
Wong, W. I., & Hines, M. (2015a). Effects of gender color-coding on toddlers’ gender-typical toy play. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44(5), 1233–1242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0400-5.
Wong, W. I., & Hines, M. (2015b). Preferences for pink and blue: The development of color preferences as a distinct gender-typed behavior in toddlers. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44(5), 1243–1254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0489-1.
Yu, L., Winter, S., & Xie, D. (2010). The child play behavior and activity questionnaire: A parent-report measure of childhood gender-related behavior in China. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 807–815. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9403-4.
Zosuls, K. M., Ruble, D. N., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Shrout, P. E., Bornstein, M. H., & Greulich, F. K. (2009). The acquisition of gender labels in infancy: Implications for gender-typed play. Developmental Psychology, 45, 668–701. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014053.
Zuckerman, C. (2017, January). Pink and blue: Coloring inside the lines of gender. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/pink-blue-project-color-gender/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fb20170105ngm-gendercolor&utm_campaign=Content&sf49585588=1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
This project was approved by the Psychology Departmental Research Ethics Committee at the University of Hong Kong. All children participated with the written consent of their parent. Children’s verbal assent was also obtained prior to the experiment.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(DOCX 384 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yeung, S.P., Wong, W.I. Gender Labels on Gender-Neutral Colors: Do they Affect Children’s Color Preferences and Play Performance?. Sex Roles 79, 260–272 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0875-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0875-3