"a general preference" is a correct phrase in written English.
It can be used to refer to a general preference that one has for something. For example, "I have a general preference for music that has a modern feel."
The observation that children switched in both conditions would suggest that switching was simply their preferred response, most likely due to a general preference for novelty.
In other words, rather than a general preference for synchrony of observed and felt actions, newborns would prefer this perfect matching only in the context of stimuli that are related to their own bodies (see an example of the experimental paradigm in Figure 1).
The Yankees will have a general preference for pitching, according to Mark Newman, president of baseball operations.
Because of widespread sale of neutral-flavoured cottonseed oil products over many years, a general preference was developed for odourless and tasteless fats.
One thing that exhibitors have noticed is a general preference for comedies over other genres this year; 6 of the top 10 films of the year to date have been comedies.
Mr. Fox shows a general preference for vivid images — bright red Halliburton trucks, beeping but unidentified scientific instruments — over the more mundane crossing the t's and dotting the i's of investigative journalism.
The argument that some matters, such as abortion, are of such moral urgency that they supersede a general preference for devolution sounds reasonable, until you try to decide which subjects are suitably urgent.
AOB has benefited from a general preference in China for TCMs over synthetically manufactured alternatives.
In representing time, all these languages share a general preference for locating the process by aspect rather than by tense.
The presented model estimation results confirm the expectation that overall people show a general preference for car over public transport.
