<p> As older adults increasingly make use of the Internet to enhance their personal and
professional lives, the study of web site usability for older adults is becoming increasingly
relevant. Web site usability is concerned with both utilitarian (i.e. functional) and hedonic (i.e.
pleasure-related) aspects. This study explores the impact of age on select utilitarian (mental
model accuracy and performance) and hedonic (disorientation and engagement) measures of
web site usability, and the subsequent impact of these utilitarian and hedonic measures on user
satisfaction. A laboratory experiment was conducted where 50 younger and 51 older
participants interacted with an experimental web site. The results of the PLS analysis suggest
that age has a more pronounced impact on utilitarian constructs than hedonic ones.
Specifically, older adults were less able to create an accurate mental model of the web site and
in turn had poorer performance with the web site. In terms of impact on user satisfaction, the
contribution of hedonic constructs was significant while the impact of utilitarian constructs was
not. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/19465 |
| Date | 10 1900 |
| Creators | Wagner, Nicole |
| Contributors | Hassanein, Khaled, Head, Milena, Business Administration |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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