How to Test Color Preference by Gender
In testing color preference by gender, format isn't as important as eliminating variables, recording data accurately and interpreting the data. If a color is associated with a sport, boys may choose the color not because of the color itself, but because it is on a football uniform. If a girl yells out to "Pick pink!" the other girls may follow her lead, rather than choosing their preference. The more subjects you have from diverse races, economic classes, cultures and backgrounds, the more accurately you can test the connection of gender, and gender only, to color preference.
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Things You'll Need
- Group of males and females
- Test including different colors and methods for participants to choose preference
- Methodology for gathering data
- Methodology for analyzing/condensing/reporting data
Instructions
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Good Tests Require Planning
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1
Look online and in books on science, marketing or sociology for examples of color preference studies. You can easily design your own study by choosing pictures--for example, pictures of cars, candy, clothing or animals--and printing them in several different colors.
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Find an existing questionnaire, or write your own, asking several demographic and preference questions. If you only ask about gender and color preference, participants may understand what you are testing for, and may change their choices due to social pressure or other factors.
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Ask questions about factors such as age, occupation, and ethnicity to determine whether you have a mix of backgrounds, ethnicities and classes.
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Print the different colored items on the test, or prepare to hold up the different colored items in front of the group, and ask questions about the items. Questions such as "Is this the best color for X, and why?" and "What color would be better and why?" will force participants to explain their choices and reasons. This will help to determine exactly what they mean. If a boy chooses pink, but explains that the object is for a girl and he thinks girls like pink, then he is not choosing pink because he prefers it.
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Be sure the testing area is quiet and private. People who see or hear what others are doing may be affected.
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Gather a group of males and females. The larger and more diverse both groups are, the more accurate your test will be. Making a generalization from three boys and three girls is hardly scientific. If you can test four different groups of a hundred participants, you are more likely to get more accurate results.
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Don't explain the reason for the test, as this could affect choice. Many group testers either tell what the test is partially about or lie. For example, you may say that you are gathering opinions on new colors for cars, or testing how large groups take tests together.
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Begin the test. You should have a time for completion. Gather the tests and consolidate the data. For the more tech-savvy, put the test on computer and enable the computer to analyze the data. You can also make a simple Excel document with columns such as "Male," "Female" and "Color Preference," and record your data in the document. The simplest but most time-consuming method is to make a chart and write the data in.
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