"Although we expected to find sex differences, we were surprised at how robust they were, given the simplicity of our test," study leader Anya Hurlbert of Newcastle University said in a statement. "Females have a preference for the red end of the red-green axis, and this shifts their color preference slightly away from blue towards red, which tends to make pinks and lilacs the most preferred colors in comparison with others."

The researchers asked young adult men and women to select, as rapidly as possible, their preferred color from each of a series of paired, colored rectangles. To further test their findings, the researchers asked a small group of Chinese people among the other 171 British Caucasians in the study.

The results among the Chinese were similar, strengthening the idea that the sex differences might be biological, Hurlbert said.

The study, published in Current Biology, also found the universal favorite color for all people appears to be blue.