Sex and Racial Differences in Color and Number Preferences

Abstract

582 undergraduates were asked to write down their favorite color and choose a number from 0 to 9. The color blue and the number seven were chosen most frequently by both sexes and races, supporting Simon's (1971) “blue-seven” phenomenon. Compared with women, men chose red and blue more frequently. Women showed a preference for yellow, purple, black, and less frequent colors more often than men. White subjects chose blue and green more often than black subjects, while black subjects showed a preference for red, purple, black, and less frequent colors. There was little relationship between color preferences and scores on the Luscher Color Test.