Pink for Girls, Blue for Boys
ISEF · 2017 Behavioral and Social Sciences
Overview
Growing up I always noticed that the sections of the stores I shopped at were very different. The girl's section was always full of pink, and the boy's section was always dominated by blue. As I got older the differences became less obvious. This led me to the question "Does age correlate to the percent of the population that conforms to the stereotype girls like pink and boys like blue?". I hypothesized that there would be a negative correlation between the two variables; because if conformity to the stereotype was learned then it would be unlearned as children got older. To test my hypothesis I went to several schools in the area and tested the students there. Subjects were given a survey with three questions, gender, age, and a proxy question. They were then asked to choose either a pink or blue marker. I sorted the questionnaires by age gender and color preference then recorded my results in my lab journal. My hypothesis was supported as there was a negative correlation between the two variables. 100% of the population in the age group 4 and under conformed to the stereotype, 85% of the population in the age group 5 - 6, 69% in the age group 7 - 8, 80% in the age group 9 - 10, 50% in the age group 11 - 12, and 37% in the age group 13 and over.
Competition history
- ISEF 2017
Resources
Related projects
ISEF · 2019
Conformity Among Ages
ISEF · 2022
Social Confidence
ISEF · 2017
The Effect of Color Preference on Quick Problem-Solving in Young Students
ISEF · 2026
The Evolution of Color Interpretation Over Time
Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.
Source: Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair