Abstract :
Adapting the consumer behavior selectivity model to the
Web environment, this paper’s key contribution is the
introduction of a self-concept orientation model of Web
information seeking. This model, which addresses gender,
effort, and information content factors, questions
the commonly assumed equivalence of sex and gender
by specifying the measurement of gender-related selfconcept
traits known as self- and other-orientation.
Regression analyses identified associations between
self-orientation, other-orientation, and self-reported
search frequencies for content with identical subject
domain (e.g., medical information, government information)
and differing relevance (i.e., important to the individual
personally versus important to someone close to
him or her). Self- and other-orientation interacted such
that when individuals were highly self-oriented, their frequency
of search for both self- and other-relevant information
depended on their level of other-orientation.
Specifically, high-self/high-other individuals, with a comprehensive
processing strategy, searched most often,
whereas high-self/low-other respondents, with an effort
minimization strategy, reported the lowest search frequencies.
This interaction pattern was even more pronounced
for other-relevant information seeking. We
found no sex differences in search frequency for either
self-relevant or other-relevant information.
