“Blue Phenomenon”: Spontaneity or Preference?

Recent studies of the “Blue Phenomenon” have shown that in some countries outside the USA not ‘blue’, but ‘red’ or ‘black’ is the predominant color choice. It is argued that the differences between countries, in addition to an explanation by cultural factors, might reflect different formulations of the question used to provoke a response. It is shown that in the Netherlands responses to the question to write ‘your favorite color’ are considerably different from responses to the question to write ‘the first color name that comes to mind.’ It is concluded that comparison of color-production phenomena over countries requires a better control over formulation of the question.