Gender Sign Recognition

- The Effects of Verbal, Pictorial, and Color Information in Interference Tasks -

Abstract

There is a wide variety of publically displayed gender signs (e.g., for public restrooms). Many are difficult to comprehend, particularly when first encountered. In experiment 1, we used Stroop-like interference tasks to investigate the roles of color and shape in gender-sign recognition. In the shape decision task, viewers (Japanese male and female students) judged the gender indicated by the shape of a sign while ignoring the color. In the color decision task, viewers judged the gender indicated by the color of a sign while ignoring the shape. Color interfered with shape-based gender decisions when signs were written in English, or as drawings, but not when they were in Japanese. Shape interfered with color-based gender decisions only when signs were written in Japanese. Experiment 2 used visual half field presentation to test hemispheric dominances of these effects. In the shape decision task, interference from color was larger in the right visual field (left hemisphere) for drawings, but the opposite pattern was found for words. In the color decision task, interference from shape was larger in the right visual field (left hemisphere) for words. When recognizing gender signs, colors are often processed so automatically that responses are strongly biased toward the gender implied. For the color effect, a hemisphere appears to dominate the other depending on the properties of the gender sign.