Suchman, R. G. & Trabasso, T. (1966). Color and form preference in young children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 3(2), 177-187.

Preferences for color, form and size stimuli by nursery and kindergarten children, ranging in age from 3-6 years, were studied under choice conditions where hue saturation and figure contour were varied. Of the 145 who completed testing, 133 Ss were unidimensional and consistent in their preference despite stimulus variation. Younger children mostly preferred color and older children mostly preferred form with the median transition age at 4 years, 2 months. Children with mixed preferences showed no increase in frequency with age. Some evidence for a preference hierarchy was presented on subtests where the preferred stimulus was removed; color-preferring children showed an increase in preference for form over size with age; form-preferring children did not show a developmental increase in preference for color over size. The results are discussed in terms of preference transition and its possible antecedent conditions as well as implications of stimulus preference for learning such as its operation as an observing response in concept attainment.