CYBERPSYCHOLOGY An important new textbook for an exciting area of contemporary psychological study and research...
The field of cyberpsychology examines the psychology of interactions between individuals, societies and digital technologies. This engaging and accessible textbook offers a complete introduction to the subject. The authors outline key theories, provide critical assessments, identify areas in need of further research, and discuss ways to use digital technologies as a research tool. They also include a wealth of real life examples, activities and discussion questions for students at undergraduate and graduate levels.
Cyberpsychology provides up-to-date coverage of a wide range of topics relating to online behaviour, and considers the potential impact of these interactions offline:
online identity
online dating and relationships
pornography
cyberbullying
children's use of the Internet
online games and gambling
deception
online crime
List of Tables, Figures and Boxes x
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Chapter 2 The 'Self' in Cyberspace 9
2.1 Defining the 'Self' 9
2.2 The self in cyberspace 13
2.3 Disembodied selves in cyberspace 13
2.4 The cyborg self 16
2.5 Goffman: Performing self online 17
2.6 Possible selves in cyberspace 18
2.7 Social identities in cyberspace 19
2.8 Visually anonymous? 20
2.9 Conclusions 21
Chapter 3 Online Relationships 23
3.1 Traditional relationships: Offline realm 23
3.2 Applying old theories to online relationships 25
3.3 New theories to explain online relating 27
3.4 A brief history of online relating 30
3.5 Contemporary online spaces 33
3.6 Interacting in various spaces 36
3.7 Future development in the field 37
3.8 Conclusions 37
Chapter 4 Online Dating 39
4.1 What is an online dating site? 39
4.2 Motivations for using an online dating site 40
4.3 Psychological characteristics of online daters 41
4.4 Comparing online dating sites with personal ads 42
4.5 Presenting oneself on an online dating site 43
4.6 Dating deception 44
4.7 A perfect match or a numbers game? 45
4.8 Stages in the online dating process 46
4.9 Conclusions 49
Chapter 5 Online Sexual Activities 51
5.1 The beginnings of Internet sex 51
5.2 The Triple A Engine 52
5.3 Cybersex: debilitating or liberating? 53
5.4 Interactive sex entertainment 54
5.5 Cybersex addiction 54
5.6 The Internet as an enabler of risky offline sexual encounters 55
5.7 The Internet and sexual health information 56
5.8 Social support and exploring sexuality 57
5.9 Teens and risky sexual online behaviour 58
5.10 Teledildonics and the future of sex in cyberspace 60
5.11 Conclusions 60
Chapter 6 Internet Infidelity 62
6.1 Defining Internet infidelity 63
6.2 Unfaithful online sexual activities 63
6.3 Virtual or real? 65
6.4 Emotional infidelity 65
6.5 Gender differences: Which is worse - sex or love? 66
6.6 Qualitative differences between online and offline affairs 68
6.7 Virtual affairs with an avatar 70
6.8 Conclusions 71
Chapter 7 Children's and Teens' Use of Digital Technologies 73
7.1 Internet usage 73
7.2 The digital divide 74
7.3 Digital technologies: Harmful or empowering for young people? 75
7.4 Illegal content and illegal activities 76
7.5 Cyberbullying and cyberharassment 77
7.6 Scams, children and teens 79
7.7 Identity development 80
7.8 Activism 81
7.9 Radicalization 82
7.10 Conclusions 84
Chapter 8 Online Education 86
8.1 Technology and learning 86
8.2 E-learning 87
8.3 E-learning versus face-to-face learning 89
8.4 Synchronous and asynchronous communication within e-learning 90
8.5 Media richness theory 93
8.6 Salmon's stage model of e-learning 95
8.7 3-D learning environments 96
8.8 Conclusions 99
Chapter 9 Leisure and Entertainment 101
9.1 What is leisure and what motivates our pursuit of it? 101
9.2 Online family leisure 103
9.3 Older adults 103
9.4 Technoference: Encroaching on leisure time within relationships 104
9.5 Telecommunication 105
9.6 Time and functional displacement effects 106
9.7 Twitter 110
9.8 Conclusions 112
Chapter 10 Online Gaming and Gambling 114
10.1 Internet addiction 114
10.2 Internet gambling addiction 116
10.3 Internet gaming addiction 117
10.4 Aggressive video games 118
10.5 Transcending taboos: video games 123
10.6 Games for learning 124
10.7 Conclusions 126
Chapter 11 Online Deception 128
11.1 Defining deception 128
11.2 Deception in cyberspace 129
11.3 Do we lie more online? 133
11.4 Detecting deception 137
11.5 Conclusions 138
Chapter 12 Online Crimes: Scams, Fraud and Illegal Downloads 141
12.1 Phishing 142
12.2 Vishing 143
12.3 Why are people tricked by phishing? 144
12.4 Improving detection 146
12.5 Mass-marketing fraud 146
12.6 Awareness campaigns 149
12.7 Cognitive and motivational errors 150
12.8 What type of person tends to be susceptible to MMF? 151
12.9 Stages involved in the online dating romance scam 152
12.10 Illegal downloads 152
12.11 Conclusions 154
Chapter 13 Online Crimes: Cyberharassment, Hate Crimes and Cyberwarfare 156
13.1 Online harassment and stalking 156
13.2 Cyberstalking and the law 158
13.3 Psychologically profiling criminals and victims 159
13.4 Hate crimes 160
13.5 Cyberwarfare 162
13.6 Surveillance and monitoring 165
13.7 Conclusions 168
Chapter 14 Online Crimes: Child Pornography and Paedophilia 170
14.1 The internet and the increase in child pornography 171
14.2 Child pornography and the law 172
14.3 Pseudo-photographs 174
14.4 Types of child pornography offenders 176
14.5 Characteristics of child pornography offenders 179
14.6 The relationship between child pornography and hands-on offending 180
14.7 Theoretical approaches to child pornography offending 181
14.8 Conclusions 185
Chapter 15 Online Support and Health Care 187
15.1 The internet and health 187
15.2 Characteristics and motivations 188
15.3 Online health searching and cyberchondria 189
15.4 Social media, group forums and support sites 191
15.5 E-therapy 193
15.6 Assessing the effectiveness of e-therapies 196
15.7 Immersive virtual environments as aids to treatment 197
15.8 Conclusions 198
Chapter 16 Concluding Thoughts 200
References 203
Index 240
