Three Essays on Sex Differences in the Web Environment : An Information Processing Perspective

This exploratory research investigated sex differences in information processing and in psychological orientations when consumers perform goal-oriented search tasks on the Internet. Grounded in cognitive psychology, two theories of differential processing between the sexes--the Selectivity Model and item-specific/relational processing--were compared using concurrent verbal protocols (Ericsson & Simon, 1993; Wright, 1980). The Selectivity Model (Meyers-Levy, 1989) predicts differences in information processing related to comprehension effort while the Itemspecific/Relational Theory (Putrevu, 2001) predicts differences in processing style but not in effort. One hundred and nine subjects performed one of two directed search tasks in a laboratory setting. Women put forth more comprehension effort than men, and showed a greater usage of a relational processing style than men. However, men failed to verbalize more item-specific thoughts than women in processing the product information available on the site. Overall, results support the Selectivity Model Meyers-Levy, 1989), whereby women are comprehensive processors and men selective ones. The item-specific/relational processing model receives limited support. The communal orientation of women was also partially supported in that

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