Is Your Attraction to Pink Gadgets Genetic?

A part of me cringes when I see a pastel pink gadget. The other part of me finds them irresistible. Could it be the shade of pink? The color's popularity? Or is it the cute factor? I can't explain why women either love or loathe pink gadgets, but a new study suggests women's attraction to pink could be biological.

Researchers asked men and women to look at 1,000 pairs of colored rectangles on a computer screen, and pick the ones they liked best. The study found that men opt for blue colors, and women gravitated towards purplish to reddish hues in the color spectrum. The kicker was the explanation given by Anya Hurlbert, a neuroscientist who led the study. She says, "We speculate that this sex difference arose from sex-specific functional specialization in the evolutionary division of labour." You see, her theory is that over the years, women developed a preference for reddish colors because they're associated with riper fruit and healthier faces. Men, on the other hand, don't care a lot about colors because as "hunters they just need to spot something dark and shoot it."

Could this explain why women like their gadgets in shades of red, while men stick to dark or greyish gear?

Personally, I don't own a single pink gizmo. I've covered my cell phone in pink skins and faceplates, but I don't think I could ever buy a gadget based on color alone. Although, I've thought about buying the pink Nintendo DS Lite, and that's only because I don't like sharing my toys with the boys. Pink does have its advantages, you know.

What about you? How many pink gadgets do you own?

Link: Women really do prefer pink (Reuters)