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Environmental preferences for size, shape, color, complexity, texture, and lighting within a school-related setting were examined among kindergarten and firstgrade school children. Using a guided "story-walk" as a prop, each characteristic was presented to the child in simplified pictorial contexts incorporating the school and its immediate surroundings. It was found that children discriminate, in selected fashion, in their preferential responses to physical-environmental characteristics of the environment. Findings of principal interest suggest that boys and girls respond differently to environmental features such as color, shape, light, and complexity, with girls demonstrating stronger preference for more diverse and dramatic environmental stimuli than do boys. The significance of this finding for evaluating spatial-cognitive knowledge among boys and girls is discussed.

The present study investigated preschool children's (17 boys and 30 girls) environmental preferences in size, shape, color, complexity, texture and lighting. Using a guided story-walk as a prop, each characteristic was presented to the child in simplified contexts incorporating the theme of home and its surroundings. Young children discriminate, in selected fashion, in their preferential responses to physical-environmental characteristics of the environment, with color and texture serving as salient dimensions for the boys and girls and also among the 24 younger children, aged 3 to 4 yr. Stability of choices across the two settings characterized the preferences of both younger and older preschool children.

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