Hula and Samalova study of flower preferences produced intriguing findings. The investigators report that “Our previous studies revealed that Czechs, irrespective of gender, age, education, or level of expertise, display very similar esthetic responses to flowers of diverse shapes and colors, that is, they like and dislike the same flowers. . . . This study compares the flower preferences of the inhabitants of two culturally, geographically, and ecologically highly distinct countries—Czechia . . . and Kenya. . . We found a very strong positive correlation . . . between the samples, suggesting that Czechs and Kenyans prefer the same flowers. . . . Moreover, the Czech flower species used as stimuli were probably familiar to Czechs but unknown to Kenyans. . . . results suggest that cultural and individual factors might play only a minor role in flower preference, whereas more general inborn preferences may be more important.”
Martin Hula and Pavlina Samalova. “Does Flower Preference Differ Across Cultures? A Study of Czech and Kenyan Populations.” Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, in press, https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000645