| This dissertation examined Simon's (1955, 1956) behavioral decision-making theories of bounded rationality and satisficing in relation to young people's decision making in the World Wide Web environment. Specifically, it sought to answer four major questions: How, if at all, do bounded rationality and satisficing relate to young people's decision making in the Web? What are the criteria that young people use to evaluate individual websites? What role does personal preference play in website selection and evaluation? Are any related-based youth website selection and evaluation behaviors identifiable? The dissertation also offered a theoretical model of the criteria young people use to evaluate individual websites. The model combined the concepts of personal preferences, gender schematics, object engagement characteristics, human processing constraints, and contextual constraints to predict a young person's selection or evaluation decision.; To examine these research questions and to test the proposed model, the researcher conducted website evaluation sessions and group interviews with thirty-three adolescent female participants. The participants also completed the short form of the Children's Sex-Role Inventory (Boldizar, 1991). Data analysis took the form of iterative pattern coding (Miles & Huberman, 1994) using QSR NUD*IST Vivo qualitative data analysis software.; Data analysis revealed that the study participants did operate within the limits of bounded rationality. These limits took the form of time constraints, information overload, and physical constraints. Data analysis also uncovered two major satisficing behaviors, reduction and termination. Website evaluation criteria fell into five main categories: gender-independent primary criteria, gender-independent secondary criteria, gender-independent primary/secondary criteria based on purpose of search, gender-related primary criteria, and gender-related secondary criteria. Personal preference was found to play a major role in website selection and evaluation in the areas of color and design in graphic and multimedia content preferences, and interest, interpretation, and conviction in subject content preferences. |
