Sex, Gender and Self-Concept: Predicting Web Shopping Site Design Preferences

Past studies of male-female differences in Web site design preferences often attribute these sex differences to gender roles and thereby posit a direct link between biological sex and gender identity. This paper, however, demonstrates the value of measuring specific self-concept traits that are associated with gender identity, rather than assuming their existence as a consequence of biological sex. An online survey collected Web site feature importance ratings as well as measures of Self-Orientation (agentic) and Other- Orientation (communal) self-concept characteristics, and found that Self- and Other-Orientation were better predictors of Web site design preferences than sex. Individuals with high Other-Orientation scores desired Web site features that facilitated comprehensive processing of information-rich environments, while those with high Self-Orientation placed greater importance on design features that improved processing efficiency and minimized effort. These findings imply that Web designers should consider site personalization that responds to preferences arising from individual differences in self-concept.