In my beautiful 4 by 4 dorm room sits my bed, laying higher to the ceiling than the floor so my massive amounts of stuff can fit perfectly under. My bed risers have made it so that as I sit at my desk and do homework I look up to my comforter which contains a plethora of blues, purples, yellows, oranges and pinks.  In my 3 weeks of school I have made the executive decision I only like the blue half, and even devoted the energy to turning my comforter so I no longer had to stare at that horrid yellowy pink side.  This whole ordeal lead me to consider why individuals have color preferences, and how we let them shape our lives.

Back at home sits a 2001 forest green Toyota Sienna, so a 15 year old minivan, just waiting for me to buckle up behind the wheel again. Do I like the color? No, but that has no effect on the efficiency gas mileage or safety rating of the car. All of these factors still didn’t stop 16 year old me from demanding I get a different car, no way would I be a forest on wheels. This was because “color preference is a deeply rooted emotional responses that seem to lack any rational basis, yet the power influence of color rules our choices.” (Fields)

These preferences could come from evolution.  Drawin’s theory of survival of the fittest suggests one lives a happy, healthy life style it increases their standard of living. Going outdoors, seeing the bright blue shinning sky “indicates calm weather, which might explain why blue tends to be a favored color across cultures” (Sohn).  Yet consider the trashcan of your throwing up roommate in the middle of the night, or the restroom stall that despite it being an all-girls bathroom someone still failed to flush. Theses yellowish, brownish, oranges universally have little preference.

Karen Schloss and Stephen Palmer graduate students at the University of California looked deeper into the varying color preference trends of individuals by showing participants both red and green pictures that would either appeal or distaste someone. The photos that appealed to the participants ultimately preferred that photos color (Sohn).

In another study produced by the University of California they found that social affiliations such as your schools colors or favorite sporting teams often lead those certain students to prefer the blue and white of Penn State or red and white of Temple.  Color preference is another way of distinguishing individuals socially. Further studies and high school students may be able to eliminate classification of their peers by where they sit in the lunch room (Sohn).

Sohn, Emily. “Color Preferences Determined by Experience : DNews.”DNew. Discovery Communications, 1 Oct. 2010. Web. 17 Sept. 2015

Fields, Douglas. “Why We Prefer Certain Colors.” Psychology Today. N.p., 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.

Manav, Banu. “Color Research & ApplicationVolume 32, Issue 2, Article First Published Online: 26 FEB 2007.” Color-emotion Associations and Color Preferences: A Case Study for Residences. Istanbul Ku¨ltu¨r University, 27 July 2006. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.