Percephial and Motor Skills, 1991, 73, 613-614.
63 Perceptual and Moror Skills 1991
COLOR PREFERENCE I N SPORT SHOES: AN INFORMAL L O O K ' JOHN TRINKAUS Baruch College Summary.-Observations on five workdays at a large terminus for a number of commuter rail lines indicated that among 4731 passengers 5% of 2794 men and 31% of 1937 women wore white sport shoes. Questions relative to interpretation are raised.
Gambaccini suggests that color generally sells running shoes; design is important, too, but it can only be taken so far (1).While it is not unreasonable to assume that people want footwear that they feel wiU make them look good, it may well be difficult to say what the relative importance of color is as a determinant of procurement contrasted with other factors such as fit and function. To gather some insight into consumers' color preference in sport shoes, an informal inquiry was conducted, in the summer of 1991, at a railroad train station in a large city in the northeast. This station serves as the terminus of a number of commuter lines. A total of five convenience sightings were made, on five weekdays, during the hours of approximately 0630 through 0930, at five passenger egress points, each of which served a different track or pair of tracks. One point was observed each day. Notations were made of travellers' footwear as they exited at the top of a flight of stairs, which connected the track level of the station with the lower concourse of the station. A total of 4731 arriving passengers were observed; 1937 (41%) were women and 2794 (59%) men. Of the women, 659 (34%) were wearing sport shoes-193 (7%) of the men-where sport shoes were defined as a flat closed foot covering, held on to the foot by laces, and made of canvas or canvas-like material. White was the predominant (upper) color: 607 (92%) of the women's sport shoes and 152 (79%) of the men's. Other colors noted were shades of blue and red; no formal count was kept as to the type of sport shoe (conventional or special purpose, for example), or of the style (hightops or lowcuts, for instance). However, it might be fair to say that type appeared to be somewhat equally divided between conventional and special purpose, when using as the determinant the number of shoelace outlets per row: conventional about four and special purpose approximately seven. Women seemed to be wearing more of the general purpose type of sport shoes. Too, very few hightops were seen, where hightops are defined as those extending beyond the foot, up the leg, to about the vicinity of the ankle. 'Address correspondence to John Trinkaus, Ph.D., Baruch College, 17 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
614
J. TRINKAUS
The few hightops which were observed tended to be worn by men, judged to be in their late teens or early twenties. That a higher percentage of women were wearing sport shoes might suggest that women's shoes for business attire may not be as comfortable for walking as men's. That white was the color of choice was not unexpected, as the display racks of many stores seem to feature, for the most part, white. However, one might reasonably ask which is cause and which is effect? Is white featured because it reflects demand, or is the demand for white the resultant of w h t e being featured? Too, white may well be the color of choice for many as it probably suggests "light and clean," even though "clean" in an urban setting can have a Iife expectancy measured in hours. That men wore more nonwhite colors than women could imply that men have a greater color choice available to them, or it might simply be a gender-based difference in color preference. I t is interesting to ponder if choice of color changes with the seasons. I t could well be, for example, that darker colors are more frequently worn in the winter. Also, one might ask if the color preference of commuters is representative of the population as a whole-it may not be. Too, interesting to consider are the effects of type and style of sport shoe on color selection, if any. Over-all these and similar issues may not seem very important, but generally the incremental bits and pieces in life, collectively, determine for many the measure of the quality of their existence. REFERENCE GAMBACCINI, P. The color purple: new trends i n running shoes. Runnerlr World, 1991, 26(4), 56-57.
Accepted Sepfember 30, 1991
63 Perceptual and Moror Skills 1991
COLOR PREFERENCE I N SPORT SHOES: AN INFORMAL L O O K ' JOHN TRINKAUS Baruch College Summary.-Observations on five workdays at a large terminus for a number of commuter rail lines indicated that among 4731 passengers 5% of 2794 men and 31% of 1937 women wore white sport shoes. Questions relative to interpretation are raised.
Gambaccini suggests that color generally sells running shoes; design is important, too, but it can only be taken so far (1).While it is not unreasonable to assume that people want footwear that they feel wiU make them look good, it may well be difficult to say what the relative importance of color is as a determinant of procurement contrasted with other factors such as fit and function. To gather some insight into consumers' color preference in sport shoes, an informal inquiry was conducted, in the summer of 1991, at a railroad train station in a large city in the northeast. This station serves as the terminus of a number of commuter lines. A total of five convenience sightings were made, on five weekdays, during the hours of approximately 0630 through 0930, at five passenger egress points, each of which served a different track or pair of tracks. One point was observed each day. Notations were made of travellers' footwear as they exited at the top of a flight of stairs, which connected the track level of the station with the lower concourse of the station. A total of 4731 arriving passengers were observed; 1937 (41%) were women and 2794 (59%) men. Of the women, 659 (34%) were wearing sport shoes-193 (7%) of the men-where sport shoes were defined as a flat closed foot covering, held on to the foot by laces, and made of canvas or canvas-like material. White was the predominant (upper) color: 607 (92%) of the women's sport shoes and 152 (79%) of the men's. Other colors noted were shades of blue and red; no formal count was kept as to the type of sport shoe (conventional or special purpose, for example), or of the style (hightops or lowcuts, for instance). However, it might be fair to say that type appeared to be somewhat equally divided between conventional and special purpose, when using as the determinant the number of shoelace outlets per row: conventional about four and special purpose approximately seven. Women seemed to be wearing more of the general purpose type of sport shoes. Too, very few hightops were seen, where hightops are defined as those extending beyond the foot, up the leg, to about the vicinity of the ankle. 'Address correspondence to John Trinkaus, Ph.D., Baruch College, 17 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
614
J. TRINKAUS
The few hightops which were observed tended to be worn by men, judged to be in their late teens or early twenties. That a higher percentage of women were wearing sport shoes might suggest that women's shoes for business attire may not be as comfortable for walking as men's. That white was the color of choice was not unexpected, as the display racks of many stores seem to feature, for the most part, white. However, one might reasonably ask which is cause and which is effect? Is white featured because it reflects demand, or is the demand for white the resultant of w h t e being featured? Too, white may well be the color of choice for many as it probably suggests "light and clean," even though "clean" in an urban setting can have a Iife expectancy measured in hours. That men wore more nonwhite colors than women could imply that men have a greater color choice available to them, or it might simply be a gender-based difference in color preference. I t is interesting to ponder if choice of color changes with the seasons. I t could well be, for example, that darker colors are more frequently worn in the winter. Also, one might ask if the color preference of commuters is representative of the population as a whole-it may not be. Too, interesting to consider are the effects of type and style of sport shoe on color selection, if any. Over-all these and similar issues may not seem very important, but generally the incremental bits and pieces in life, collectively, determine for many the measure of the quality of their existence. REFERENCE GAMBACCINI, P. The color purple: new trends i n running shoes. Runnerlr World, 1991, 26(4), 56-57.
Accepted Sepfember 30, 1991
