title: Ecological Effects in Cross-Cultural Differences Between U.S. and Japanese Color Preferences.
abstract: We investigated cultural differences between U.S. and Japanese color preferences and the ecological factors that might influence them. Japanese and U.S. color preferences have both similarities (e.g., peaks around blue, troughs around dark-yellow, and preferences for saturated colors) and differences (Japanese participants like darker colors less than U.S. participants do). Complex gender differences were also evident that did not conform to previously reported effects. Palmer and Schloss's (2010) weighted affective valence estimate (WAVE) procedure was used to test the Ecological Valence Theory's (EVT's) prediction that within-culture WAVE-preference correlations should be higher than between-culture WAVE-preference correlations. The results supported several, but not all, predictions. In the second experiment, we tested color preferences of Japanese-U.S. multicultural participants who could read and speak both Japanese and English. Multicultural color preferences were intermediate between U.S. and Japanese preferences, consistent with the hypothesis that culturally specific personal experiences during one's lifetime influence color preferences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo. yokosawa@l.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yokosawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University.
authors.forename: Karen B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Schloss
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, College of Contemporary Psychology, Rikkyo University.
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley.
authors.forename: Stephen E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Palmer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003116:Color; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Color preference; Cross-cultural differences; Ecological Valence Theory; Gender differences