The Psychology of the Internet / Patricia Wallace.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wallace, Patricia M.

Series:

Cambridge books online.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communication--Psychological aspects.

Communication.

Internet--Psychological aspects.

Internet.

Computer networks--Psychological aspects.

Computer networks.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (294 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1999.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

PDF

Summary:

This timely and exciting volume explores the psychological aspects of cyberspace, a virtual world in which people from around the globe are acting and interacting in many new, unusual, and occasionally alarming ways. Drawing on research in the social sciences, communications, business, and other fields, Dr. Wallace examines how the online environment can influence the way we behave, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. Our own online behavior then becomes part of the Internet's psychological environment for others, creating opportunities for shaping the way this new territory for human interaction is unfolding. Because the Internet - and our experience within it - is still young, we have a rare window of opportunity to influence the course of its development as a social technology that can support almost every kind of human activity.

Contents:

1 The Internet in a Psychological Context 1

Environments of the Internet: A Taxonomy 4

Language on the Net 9

Empowering Internet Users 12

2 Your Online Persona: The Psychology of Impression Formation 14

Warm and Cold Impressions 15

The Chilly Internet 15

The Socioemotional Thaw 18

Impression Formation Shortcuts 19

Person Types and Categories 21

Beyond Age and Gender 24

Social Cognition and Categories 25

The Rhythms of Impression Formation 26

Online, Onstage: Impression Management on the Internet 28

Online Self-Descriptions 30

The Home Page Advantage 31

Focus on Self 34

Making that Keyboard Work Harder 36

3 Online Masks and Masquerades 38

The Origins of Role Play 40

Leakage on the Internet 41

Role Play Danger Areas 44

Identity Experiments in the Internet Laboratory 47

The Dupes in the Experiment 49

Detecting Deceit, Offline and On 50

Deceit and Suspicion: Dance Partners 51

Pros and Cons of the Internet's Identity Lab 53

4 Group Dynamics in Cyberspace 55

"Groupness" 55

Conformity 59

Conforming on the Net 62

The Sign on the Door 64

The Arched Brow 66

In Search of the Leviathan 69

Experimenting with the Leviathan On a Social MUD 71

Group Polarization 73

Polarization on the Net 76

Finding Others of Like Mind 79

Virtual Work Groups 80

The Biased Dicussion in Online Workgroups 81

Minority Opinions in Online Workgroups 82

Workgroups and Electronic Brainstorming 83

Developing Trust in Virtual Teams 84

5 Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation 88

The Robbers Cave Experiments 89

Intergroup Rivalries on the Internet Games 91

Player Types and Motivations 96

Ingroups on the Internet 99

"Expert-ism" 101

Global Villagers: Are We a Group? 103

Internet Group Power 105

6 Flaming and Fighting: The Psychology of Aggression on the Net 110

Born to Fight? 111

Frustration and Aggression 112

The World Wide Wait 113

The Hair Trigger 116

Retaliation 117

In the Eye of the Beholder: When Is a Flame a Flame? 119

Lab and Field Studies of Flaming 120

Reproaches 122

Over-Retaliation 123

Anonymity and Physical Distance 124

The #$@@!!!& Software 127

Catharsis: Is Letting Off Steam Good for You? 129

Aggression: Internet Style 130

7 Liking and Loving on the Net: The Psychology of Interpersonal Attraction 133

Who Makes Friends Online? 134

The Nature of Online Relationships 135

The Magnet of Physical Attractiveness 136

Attractiveness in the Dark 138

Proximity: Who's Next Door on the Net? 139

Birds of a Feather, Flocking on the Internet 141

Complementary Relationships 143

The "You Like Me, I Like You, You Like Me More" Spiral 144

When the Spiral Spins Down 145

Humor 147

Self-Disclosure 150

Enhancing Real Life Romance on the Internet 151

Virtual Passion 152

Roses on the Net 155

8 Psychological Aspects of Internet Pornography 157

Sensationalizing Cyberporn 157

But What Is Really Out There? 159

Psychological Aspects of Pornography 161

Aggressive and Violent Pornography 163

Views From the Internet 165

Checking IDs 167

How Much Should We Worry? 169

9 The Internet as a Time Sink 171

Locus of Control 173

Section 2 175

The Online Auction 177

The Internet's Addictive Properties 178

What Is So Compelling About the Internet? 181

The Psychology of Addiction in Synchronous Psychological Spaces 182

Life at the Palace 185

Newbie Disease? 186

Naming the Affliction: Addiction? Overuse? Self-Indulgence? 188

10 Altruism on the Net: The Psychology of Helping 190

Random Acts of Kindness: Internet Style 190

By the Numbers 192

Let Someone Else Take Care of It 194

Numbers on the Net 195

Who Helps Whom? 198

People Like Us 200

Asking For Help on the Net 201

The Internet's Support Networks 204

Support For Stigmatized Groups 205

How May I Help You? 206

11 Gender Issues on the Net 208

Male and Female: Not Opposite Sexes 208

Gender and Language 210

Language and Power 211

Interaction Styles 212

The Leap to Cyberspace: Are We Typing in Pink and Blue? 214

Adapting to the Male Majority 217

Stereotypes and Perceptions 218

The New Battlefield for the War Between the Sexes 219

Women-Only and Men-Only Groups 222

Gender IDs in the Games 224

A Hostile World for Women 225

Legal Aspects of Online Harassment and Threats 227

The Mr.Bungle Affair 230

Gender Issues on the Frontier 232

12 Nurturing Life on the Internet 233

Technological Determinism Revisited 234

A Perfect Place For Conspiracies 236

The Metadiscussion 237

Anonymity and Accountability 239

The Tragedy of the Electronic Commons 242

Trust and Grassroots E-Commerce 244

Encouraging Critical Thinking 245

Providing Guidance 246

Rewards on the Internet 249

Psychology of the Internet: The Next Generation 251.

Notes:

Title from publishers bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Nov 2012).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9780511581670

9780521632942

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.