LANGUAGE AND SPEECH, 1991,34(1), 57- 62
57
SEX- AND AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN COLOUR VOCABULARY' JEAN SIhlPSON
and ARTHURW.S. TARRANT University of Surrey Data were collected on the colour names used by 26 females and 24 males in naming 200 colour samples. Women used more elaborate colour names than men but, contrary to other findings, older subjects of both sexes used more elaborate names than younger subjects. Older men in our sample had a more elaborate vocabulary than younger women, showing that although sex differences were well established, vocabulary continued to increase with age. Colour related hobbies were significantly correlated with enhanced vocabulary for the male group, but not for the female group. Key words: colour vocabulary, sex differences, age differences INTRODUCTION
Evidence has accumulated over many years showing that females have a greater colour naming ability than males (Ligon, 1932; Anyan and Quillan, 1971; Rich, 1977; Swaringen, Layman, and Wilson, 1978; Nowaczyk, 1982; Sleight and Prinz, 1982). The most wide-ranging study of adults is that of Rich (1977), who studied six groups differing in size from seven to 24 subjects (no overall total given), and examined colour vocabulary differences as a function of sex, extent of technical knowledge, and age. Rich concluded that women use more elaborate (fancy) words than men, and that younger men use more elaborate words than older men. Age differences were not significant in the female group, but were in the men's group. In his replication of Rich's study, Nowaczyk (1982) asked subjects t o name 18 colour samples, and t o match them t o a list of 64 Crayola names. This provided an extra measure of difference in the colow lexicon; men might be able to match words and colours, while being unable to generate colour words. No significant sex differences were found as far as elicited names were concerned, although males relied on basic colour words more than did women, but significant differences were found on the matching task, with women better at matching fancy colour words to the appropriate colours, even though the overall correct percentage was roughly the
* Acknowledgement
is gratefully made t o the Managers of the Edith Clarke Fund of the University of Surrey for funding part of this work.
Send correspondence to Arthur Tarrant, Home Economics and Domestic Engineering Research Unit, Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 5XH, U.K.
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
58
Sex and Age Differences in Colorrr Vocabulary
same between sexes. Swaringen et al. (1978) found that significantly more colour names were used by female college students compared with male students. Their data also showed that the leisure activities of the female subjects were more involved with colour than those of the males. The authors therefore attribute vocabulary differences to learned differences in the expression of colour appreciation. The study described here uses a large amount of data on colour names in everyday use collected as part of another project (Tarrant and Simpson, in preparation) in an attempt to reexamine the findings on sex and age differences, and the importance of hobbies in the learned colour vocabulary of males and females. Two hundred different colour samples covering the whole colour gamut were used, providing a much more stringent test of the vocabulary available t o subjects than the small number used in previous studies. The number of samples stretched the vocabulary of most subjects to its limit; many commented that they did not have the words available to describe colours they could perceive were different. A time limit of 15 seconds was imposed on the naming task; this enabled most subjects to generate a name and write it down, without giving sufficient time to retrieve obscure names which they would not have used in ordinary speech, but which they might have been tempted to use in response to the experimental task. Colour names were coded using a seven-category system which extended and clarified the system devised by Rich (1977) and Nowaczyk (1982). METHODS
Subjects Fifty subjects took part in the experiment, 2 6 females and 2 4 males. Twenty of these were undergraduate students from a technological university (i.e., no Fine Arts students), and the others were technicians, lecturers, research officers, and secretaries from the same university. The majority of the student group was aged under 30 years, and the majority of the other group was aged over 40 years. Two age groups were formed: under 30 (I 1 males, 13 females) and over 30 (13 males, 13 females). Subjects were paid a small fee for taking part. Procedure
Prior t o the experimental session, subjects were asked to fill in a form detailing age, sex, and whether they had been tested for colour blindness. All prospective subjects who had not been cleared for colour abnormalities were tested using the Ishihara Test for Colour Blindness (Ishihara, 1969) and were excluded if they did not have normal colour vision. Subjects were also excluded if they had extensive knowledge of a foreign language or had spent more than a year abroad. They were also asked about their work or leisure pursuits connected with colour. Each subject was asked to name 200 colour samples. These were surface colour glossy samples printed on paper 150 mm by 115 mm, each mounted on a medium grey matt card, size 300 mm by 260 mm. The samples were taken from the set of 267 issued by the Inter Society Colour Council, National Bureau of Standards (ISCC-NBS) (Kelly and
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
J. Sinipson and A . W.S. Tarrant
59
Judd, 1955). It is based on the Munseil system and consists of name charts based on 31 ranges of Munsell hues. The 200 samples covered the whole colour gamut. They were divided into five groups, each covering the range of hues, and then randomly mixed within these groups. Each subject was presented with all five groups in random order. Subjects were instructed to turn over the 40 cards in each group at 15 second intervals, and write down the name of the colour before them. Subjects were asked to use the vocabulary they felt they would normally use in describing an object to a friend. Subjects were instructed to pass on to the next sample if they felt they were unable t o give a name during 15 seconds. Sixty-eight percent of subjects named all 200 samples, and 88%named 199 or more. The maximum number of failures for one individual was 18 samples. Each set of cards took 10 minutes, and subjects rested for a few minutes between sets. Subjects reported that they found the task of naming so many samples difficult, but not so demanding or tiring that they felt their performance was unduly affected. Subjects were tested either singly or in groups of up to five persons, seated so that they could not read each other’s responses, in a room well-lit by natural daylight. Direct sunlight was excluded. The responses were coded into the following categories:
Basic. One of the 1 1 basic colour terms as defined by Berlin and Kay (1 969). These are black, white, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange, grey. Modified Basic. A basic colour name modified by a basic modifier (i-e., bright, dull, light, dark, pale, deep). Basic modifiers were defined as such because they were used far more frequently than other modifiers (e.g., vivid). Basic-Basic. Two basic colour names combined, either as two nouns, or adjectivenoun (e.g., blue-green, greenish yellow). QiraIified Basic. Two or more words where the colour names used are basic names, but not falling into any of the three categories above. These could contain modifiers of a basic or non-basic kind (e.g., light bright green, vivid green, dirty green, bluish greenish white, light blue-green, etc.). Elaborate. Any word o r phrase containing a non-basic colour name of a non-idiosyncratic type (e.g., magenta, pale magenta, jade green). Idiosyncratic. Names used by single individuals such as river bottom green, swimming pool blue. Umanted. These constituted less than 1% of the total. RESULTS Types of colour-naming categories used The results are summarised in Table 1. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyse the frequency of use of each category of colour name, with age and sex as factors. In order t o compensate for the non-independence of the frequencies in the seven categories, one naming category was dropped from the analysis. ‘Qualified Basic’ was
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
Sex and Age Differences iit Colorir Vocabulary
60
TABLE1 Percentages of Category Response by Age and Sex Male Young
Old
Basic Mod. Basic Basic-Basic
17.80 22.20
13.06 19.25
14.30
11.17
Qual. Basic
13.28
13.61
Elaborate Idiosyncratic
29.80 3.92 0.59
39.50 1.66 I .62
400
438
Unnamed Vocabulary score
Female Young Old
15.1 1 17.85 8.54
16.23 12.26 4.98
14.77 39.43
9.1 6 55.41
2.90
2.67
1.31
0.08
430
463
dropped since it was least important as a descriptive category, and yet was used at least once by all subjects. The interaction of age and sex was not significant [F (6,41) = 1.56, p = 0.1821. However, the main effects of both age and sex were significant [F (6,41) = 2.88, p = 0.02, and F (6,41) = 3.13, p = 0.01, respectively]. Univariate follow-up tests revealed sex differences in the use of Modified Basic [F (1 ,46) = 6.69, p = 0.0131 , and Basic-Basic [F (1,46) = 10.45, p = 0.0021 colour names, with much greater use of both of these categories by men, and greater use of Elaborate colour names by women [F (1,46) = 10.90, p = 0.0021. There were age differences in the use of Elaborate colow names [F (1’46) = 11.09, p = 0.002 I , with greater use by older subjects.
Vocabulary score For the purposes of comparison with the Rich data, a total score was computed for each individual. A score of ‘I’ was assigned for each use of a Basic name, ‘2’ for each use of a Modified Basic, Basic-Basic or Qualified Basic name, and ‘3’ for each use of an Elaborate colour name. The Idiosyncratic names and Unnamed samples were ignored as they formed a very small proportion for most subjects. Again using an analysis of variance, with age and sex as the main factors, the score differed significantly by age, older groups having a higher score and therefore a more elaborate naming system than younger groups [F (1,46) = 8.52, p = 0.005] ,and by sex, with females having the more elaborate vocabulary than males [F(1,46) = 5.12, p = 0.031 .The interaction was not significant.
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
J. Siiiipsoii aiid A. W.S. Tarrant
61
Sex aiid age differences in colour-relatedhobbies Swaringen et al. (1978) found significant differences in the total number of names used by males and females. In their experiment, a score was constructed from responses given to a biographical questionnaire, indicating the relative importance of colour in the hobbies of each subject. They found that males scored significantly lower than females on this measure. There was also a significant correlation between the number of colour names used and the hobbies score. Our subjects were also asked to name hobbies they pursued which involved the use of colour (e.g., painting, knitting, model-making, photography, etc.). Subjects scored ‘1’ for each colour-related hobby mentioned, but housedecorating was ignored as this was possibly related to house ownership and would be biased towards the older, non-student subject group. A two-way analysis of variance was performed on the scores, using sex and age as the main factors. Men had significantly fewer colour-related hobbies than women [male average score 0.46, female average score 1.OO; F (1,46) = 5.01, p = 0.031. Age was not a significant factor, and there was no significant interaction. There was also a significant correlation between vocabulary scores and hobbies scores for our sample (r = 0.35, p < 0.01). However, when the male and female groups was examined separately, the relationship was found t o be present only for the males (r = 0.54, p < 0.05), not for the females (r = 0.1 6).
DISCUSSION The data presented here confirm that women have a wider colour vocabulary than men. They use elaborate colour words significantly more frequently than men, and use terms involving combinations of basic colour terms less frequently than men. In asking subjects to name 200 different samples, the vocabulary available to them was severely tested. Women were able to respond with many more specialised colour words, whereas men resorted to using simple colour terms combined together. Despite Mollon’s (1987) interesting speculation that up to 12% of women may have enhanced discrimination ability in the visual system (female carriers of anomalous trichromacy may themselves be tetrachromatic), most observers are of the opinion that the difference in colour naming ability between the sexes is based on culture and experience and is but one example of many differences in both verbal ability (Maccoby and Jacklin, 1974) and use of language (Barron, 1971). The data presented in this study indicate that, with adults, the difference between the sexes is maintained while vocabulary continues to increase with age. The older male group scored not only more highly on elaborateness of vocabulary than younger men, but also slightly higher than younger women. This contrasts with Rich (1977), who found that younger men scored higher than older men, and lower than all categories of women. There were some differences in the formal educational qualifications obtained between the age groups but all subjects had had some form of formal education after 18 years, and we felt that differences between age groups were not attributable to educational factors. Cultural differences between the sexes appear to be established early in life, but our findings show that vocabulary continues to expand in response to experience,
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
62
Sex arid Age Differences in Colour Vocabrilary
both of a general and specific kind. The vocabulary of both sexes increased with age. Increased use of elaborate colour terms was significantly correlated with the pursuit of colour related hobbies for men, but not for women. Possibly the already superior vocabulary of women is adequate to meet the demands of colour related hobbies, whereas that of men is not. (Submitted February 6, 1990; accepted July 26, 1991)
REFERENCES ANYAN, W.R.,and QUILLIAN,W.W. (1971). The naming of primary colors by children. ChildDevelopment. 42,1629-1632. BARRON, N. (1971). Sex-typed language: The production of grammatical cases. Acta Sociologica, 14. 24-42. BERLIN, B., and KAY, P. (1969). Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution Berkeley: University of California Press. ISHIHARA, S . (1969). Ishihara Tests for Color Blindness Tokyo: Kanehara Shuppan. KELLY, K.L., and JUDD. D.B. (1955). The ISCC-NBS method of designating colors and a dictionary of color names. National Bureau o f Standards Circular 553, Washington. LIGON, E.hl. (1932). A genetic study of color naming and word reading. American Journal ofPsyChOlogy, 4,103-122. MACCOBY. E.E., and JACKLIN, C.N. (1974). The Psychology o f Sex Differences Stanford: Stanford University Press. LIOLLON, J.D. (1987). On the origins of polymorphism. In Frontiers of VisualScience: Proceedings o f the 1985 Symposium. Washington: National Academy Press. NO\VACZYK, R.H. (1982). Sex-rehted differences in the color lexicon. Language and Speech, 25, 257-265. RICH, E. (1977). Sex-related differences in colour vocabulary. Language and Speech, 20,404-409. SLEIGHT, C., and PRINZ,P.M. (1982). Children’s color vocabulary. Language and Speech, 25,75-79. SWARINGEN, S., LAYMAN. S., and WILSON, A. (1978). Sex differences in color naming. Perceptual andhfotor Skills, 47,440-442. TARRANT, A.W.S., and SIMPSON, J. (in preparation). Colour Naming.
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
57
SEX- AND AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN COLOUR VOCABULARY' JEAN SIhlPSON
and ARTHURW.S. TARRANT University of Surrey Data were collected on the colour names used by 26 females and 24 males in naming 200 colour samples. Women used more elaborate colour names than men but, contrary to other findings, older subjects of both sexes used more elaborate names than younger subjects. Older men in our sample had a more elaborate vocabulary than younger women, showing that although sex differences were well established, vocabulary continued to increase with age. Colour related hobbies were significantly correlated with enhanced vocabulary for the male group, but not for the female group. Key words: colour vocabulary, sex differences, age differences INTRODUCTION
Evidence has accumulated over many years showing that females have a greater colour naming ability than males (Ligon, 1932; Anyan and Quillan, 1971; Rich, 1977; Swaringen, Layman, and Wilson, 1978; Nowaczyk, 1982; Sleight and Prinz, 1982). The most wide-ranging study of adults is that of Rich (1977), who studied six groups differing in size from seven to 24 subjects (no overall total given), and examined colour vocabulary differences as a function of sex, extent of technical knowledge, and age. Rich concluded that women use more elaborate (fancy) words than men, and that younger men use more elaborate words than older men. Age differences were not significant in the female group, but were in the men's group. In his replication of Rich's study, Nowaczyk (1982) asked subjects t o name 18 colour samples, and t o match them t o a list of 64 Crayola names. This provided an extra measure of difference in the colow lexicon; men might be able to match words and colours, while being unable to generate colour words. No significant sex differences were found as far as elicited names were concerned, although males relied on basic colour words more than did women, but significant differences were found on the matching task, with women better at matching fancy colour words to the appropriate colours, even though the overall correct percentage was roughly the
* Acknowledgement
is gratefully made t o the Managers of the Edith Clarke Fund of the University of Surrey for funding part of this work.
Send correspondence to Arthur Tarrant, Home Economics and Domestic Engineering Research Unit, Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 5XH, U.K.
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
58
Sex and Age Differences in Colorrr Vocabulary
same between sexes. Swaringen et al. (1978) found that significantly more colour names were used by female college students compared with male students. Their data also showed that the leisure activities of the female subjects were more involved with colour than those of the males. The authors therefore attribute vocabulary differences to learned differences in the expression of colour appreciation. The study described here uses a large amount of data on colour names in everyday use collected as part of another project (Tarrant and Simpson, in preparation) in an attempt to reexamine the findings on sex and age differences, and the importance of hobbies in the learned colour vocabulary of males and females. Two hundred different colour samples covering the whole colour gamut were used, providing a much more stringent test of the vocabulary available t o subjects than the small number used in previous studies. The number of samples stretched the vocabulary of most subjects to its limit; many commented that they did not have the words available to describe colours they could perceive were different. A time limit of 15 seconds was imposed on the naming task; this enabled most subjects to generate a name and write it down, without giving sufficient time to retrieve obscure names which they would not have used in ordinary speech, but which they might have been tempted to use in response to the experimental task. Colour names were coded using a seven-category system which extended and clarified the system devised by Rich (1977) and Nowaczyk (1982). METHODS
Subjects Fifty subjects took part in the experiment, 2 6 females and 2 4 males. Twenty of these were undergraduate students from a technological university (i.e., no Fine Arts students), and the others were technicians, lecturers, research officers, and secretaries from the same university. The majority of the student group was aged under 30 years, and the majority of the other group was aged over 40 years. Two age groups were formed: under 30 (I 1 males, 13 females) and over 30 (13 males, 13 females). Subjects were paid a small fee for taking part. Procedure
Prior t o the experimental session, subjects were asked to fill in a form detailing age, sex, and whether they had been tested for colour blindness. All prospective subjects who had not been cleared for colour abnormalities were tested using the Ishihara Test for Colour Blindness (Ishihara, 1969) and were excluded if they did not have normal colour vision. Subjects were also excluded if they had extensive knowledge of a foreign language or had spent more than a year abroad. They were also asked about their work or leisure pursuits connected with colour. Each subject was asked to name 200 colour samples. These were surface colour glossy samples printed on paper 150 mm by 115 mm, each mounted on a medium grey matt card, size 300 mm by 260 mm. The samples were taken from the set of 267 issued by the Inter Society Colour Council, National Bureau of Standards (ISCC-NBS) (Kelly and
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
J. Sinipson and A . W.S. Tarrant
59
Judd, 1955). It is based on the Munseil system and consists of name charts based on 31 ranges of Munsell hues. The 200 samples covered the whole colour gamut. They were divided into five groups, each covering the range of hues, and then randomly mixed within these groups. Each subject was presented with all five groups in random order. Subjects were instructed to turn over the 40 cards in each group at 15 second intervals, and write down the name of the colour before them. Subjects were asked to use the vocabulary they felt they would normally use in describing an object to a friend. Subjects were instructed to pass on to the next sample if they felt they were unable t o give a name during 15 seconds. Sixty-eight percent of subjects named all 200 samples, and 88%named 199 or more. The maximum number of failures for one individual was 18 samples. Each set of cards took 10 minutes, and subjects rested for a few minutes between sets. Subjects reported that they found the task of naming so many samples difficult, but not so demanding or tiring that they felt their performance was unduly affected. Subjects were tested either singly or in groups of up to five persons, seated so that they could not read each other’s responses, in a room well-lit by natural daylight. Direct sunlight was excluded. The responses were coded into the following categories:
Basic. One of the 1 1 basic colour terms as defined by Berlin and Kay (1 969). These are black, white, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange, grey. Modified Basic. A basic colour name modified by a basic modifier (i-e., bright, dull, light, dark, pale, deep). Basic modifiers were defined as such because they were used far more frequently than other modifiers (e.g., vivid). Basic-Basic. Two basic colour names combined, either as two nouns, or adjectivenoun (e.g., blue-green, greenish yellow). QiraIified Basic. Two or more words where the colour names used are basic names, but not falling into any of the three categories above. These could contain modifiers of a basic or non-basic kind (e.g., light bright green, vivid green, dirty green, bluish greenish white, light blue-green, etc.). Elaborate. Any word o r phrase containing a non-basic colour name of a non-idiosyncratic type (e.g., magenta, pale magenta, jade green). Idiosyncratic. Names used by single individuals such as river bottom green, swimming pool blue. Umanted. These constituted less than 1% of the total. RESULTS Types of colour-naming categories used The results are summarised in Table 1. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyse the frequency of use of each category of colour name, with age and sex as factors. In order t o compensate for the non-independence of the frequencies in the seven categories, one naming category was dropped from the analysis. ‘Qualified Basic’ was
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
Sex and Age Differences iit Colorir Vocabulary
60
TABLE1 Percentages of Category Response by Age and Sex Male Young
Old
Basic Mod. Basic Basic-Basic
17.80 22.20
13.06 19.25
14.30
11.17
Qual. Basic
13.28
13.61
Elaborate Idiosyncratic
29.80 3.92 0.59
39.50 1.66 I .62
400
438
Unnamed Vocabulary score
Female Young Old
15.1 1 17.85 8.54
16.23 12.26 4.98
14.77 39.43
9.1 6 55.41
2.90
2.67
1.31
0.08
430
463
dropped since it was least important as a descriptive category, and yet was used at least once by all subjects. The interaction of age and sex was not significant [F (6,41) = 1.56, p = 0.1821. However, the main effects of both age and sex were significant [F (6,41) = 2.88, p = 0.02, and F (6,41) = 3.13, p = 0.01, respectively]. Univariate follow-up tests revealed sex differences in the use of Modified Basic [F (1 ,46) = 6.69, p = 0.0131 , and Basic-Basic [F (1,46) = 10.45, p = 0.0021 colour names, with much greater use of both of these categories by men, and greater use of Elaborate colour names by women [F (1,46) = 10.90, p = 0.0021. There were age differences in the use of Elaborate colow names [F (1’46) = 11.09, p = 0.002 I , with greater use by older subjects.
Vocabulary score For the purposes of comparison with the Rich data, a total score was computed for each individual. A score of ‘I’ was assigned for each use of a Basic name, ‘2’ for each use of a Modified Basic, Basic-Basic or Qualified Basic name, and ‘3’ for each use of an Elaborate colour name. The Idiosyncratic names and Unnamed samples were ignored as they formed a very small proportion for most subjects. Again using an analysis of variance, with age and sex as the main factors, the score differed significantly by age, older groups having a higher score and therefore a more elaborate naming system than younger groups [F (1,46) = 8.52, p = 0.005] ,and by sex, with females having the more elaborate vocabulary than males [F(1,46) = 5.12, p = 0.031 .The interaction was not significant.
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
J. Siiiipsoii aiid A. W.S. Tarrant
61
Sex aiid age differences in colour-relatedhobbies Swaringen et al. (1978) found significant differences in the total number of names used by males and females. In their experiment, a score was constructed from responses given to a biographical questionnaire, indicating the relative importance of colour in the hobbies of each subject. They found that males scored significantly lower than females on this measure. There was also a significant correlation between the number of colour names used and the hobbies score. Our subjects were also asked to name hobbies they pursued which involved the use of colour (e.g., painting, knitting, model-making, photography, etc.). Subjects scored ‘1’ for each colour-related hobby mentioned, but housedecorating was ignored as this was possibly related to house ownership and would be biased towards the older, non-student subject group. A two-way analysis of variance was performed on the scores, using sex and age as the main factors. Men had significantly fewer colour-related hobbies than women [male average score 0.46, female average score 1.OO; F (1,46) = 5.01, p = 0.031. Age was not a significant factor, and there was no significant interaction. There was also a significant correlation between vocabulary scores and hobbies scores for our sample (r = 0.35, p < 0.01). However, when the male and female groups was examined separately, the relationship was found t o be present only for the males (r = 0.54, p < 0.05), not for the females (r = 0.1 6).
DISCUSSION The data presented here confirm that women have a wider colour vocabulary than men. They use elaborate colour words significantly more frequently than men, and use terms involving combinations of basic colour terms less frequently than men. In asking subjects to name 200 different samples, the vocabulary available to them was severely tested. Women were able to respond with many more specialised colour words, whereas men resorted to using simple colour terms combined together. Despite Mollon’s (1987) interesting speculation that up to 12% of women may have enhanced discrimination ability in the visual system (female carriers of anomalous trichromacy may themselves be tetrachromatic), most observers are of the opinion that the difference in colour naming ability between the sexes is based on culture and experience and is but one example of many differences in both verbal ability (Maccoby and Jacklin, 1974) and use of language (Barron, 1971). The data presented in this study indicate that, with adults, the difference between the sexes is maintained while vocabulary continues to increase with age. The older male group scored not only more highly on elaborateness of vocabulary than younger men, but also slightly higher than younger women. This contrasts with Rich (1977), who found that younger men scored higher than older men, and lower than all categories of women. There were some differences in the formal educational qualifications obtained between the age groups but all subjects had had some form of formal education after 18 years, and we felt that differences between age groups were not attributable to educational factors. Cultural differences between the sexes appear to be established early in life, but our findings show that vocabulary continues to expand in response to experience,
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
62
Sex arid Age Differences in Colour Vocabrilary
both of a general and specific kind. The vocabulary of both sexes increased with age. Increased use of elaborate colour terms was significantly correlated with the pursuit of colour related hobbies for men, but not for women. Possibly the already superior vocabulary of women is adequate to meet the demands of colour related hobbies, whereas that of men is not. (Submitted February 6, 1990; accepted July 26, 1991)
REFERENCES ANYAN, W.R.,and QUILLIAN,W.W. (1971). The naming of primary colors by children. ChildDevelopment. 42,1629-1632. BARRON, N. (1971). Sex-typed language: The production of grammatical cases. Acta Sociologica, 14. 24-42. BERLIN, B., and KAY, P. (1969). Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution Berkeley: University of California Press. ISHIHARA, S . (1969). Ishihara Tests for Color Blindness Tokyo: Kanehara Shuppan. KELLY, K.L., and JUDD. D.B. (1955). The ISCC-NBS method of designating colors and a dictionary of color names. National Bureau o f Standards Circular 553, Washington. LIGON, E.hl. (1932). A genetic study of color naming and word reading. American Journal ofPsyChOlogy, 4,103-122. MACCOBY. E.E., and JACKLIN, C.N. (1974). The Psychology o f Sex Differences Stanford: Stanford University Press. LIOLLON, J.D. (1987). On the origins of polymorphism. In Frontiers of VisualScience: Proceedings o f the 1985 Symposium. Washington: National Academy Press. NO\VACZYK, R.H. (1982). Sex-rehted differences in the color lexicon. Language and Speech, 25, 257-265. RICH, E. (1977). Sex-related differences in colour vocabulary. Language and Speech, 20,404-409. SLEIGHT, C., and PRINZ,P.M. (1982). Children’s color vocabulary. Language and Speech, 25,75-79. SWARINGEN, S., LAYMAN. S., and WILSON, A. (1978). Sex differences in color naming. Perceptual andhfotor Skills, 47,440-442. TARRANT, A.W.S., and SIMPSON, J. (in preparation). Colour Naming.
Downloaded from las.sagepub.com at RMIT University Library on February 7, 2016
