2. Saturation

Western adults tend to favor higher saturation for context-free patches of color(see the same Fig. 1). Some findings suggest that preferences decrease for colors of very high saturation, which were reportedly “too vivid”. Preference for high saturation colors varies as a function of gender, culture, and object-context, however. [Palmer 2013]

2.a. Gender differences

One study showed that men tend to prefer saturated colors more than women do, and these differences are correlated (r = + 0.73) with observers’ judgments of how active/passive colors are, with males generally preferring more active colors and females more passive ones. [Palmer 2013] I think it would be interesting to find out other connotations the low-saturation had for most females who preferred it, because I find it improbable that passivity was one. More art training or calmness might be better explanations.

These gender differences in saturation develop with age, being absent for young children (~6–9 years), beginning to appear during adolescence (12–13 years), and being clearly apparent by adulthood (17–18 years) [Palmer 2013]

3. Lightness

In the same 2010 study, dark orange (brown) and dark yellow (olive) were significantly less preferred than other oranges and yellows, whereas dark red and dark green were more preferred than other reds and greens (see the same Fig. 1)

 

Bibliography

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    and brightness on preference. Color Res. Appl., 27: 199–207. doi: 10.1002/col.10051
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    [Accessed 2017-03-20]
  • Palmer, S. E., Schloss, K. B., & Sammartino, J. (2013). Visual aesthetics and human preference. Annual review of psychology, 64, 77-107.
  • Palmer, S. E., & Schloss, K. B. (2010). An ecological valence theory of human color preference. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(19), 8877-8882.
  • Saito, M. (2015). Comparative (cross-cultural) color preference and its structure. Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology, 1-7.