John Suler,
Ph.D. - Rider University
Sept 1999 - copyright notice
The Psychology of Cyberspace
Overview and "Guided Tour"
This article is an overview and summary of the hypertext book
The Psychology of Cyberspace. The links
in this article lead to other pages, articles, and sections of the book.
Clicking on a graphic will take you to the corresponding section in
the table of contents on the home page. You may find it helpful to use
this article as a kind of guided tour that will point you to other articles
of interest. The book also has an article index,
a subject index, and a search
engine.
The psychological study of cyberspace is as broad as the
field of psychology itself. Anyone who has taken an introductory psychology
course knows how vast that terrain is. Cognitive psychology, personality
theory, social psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology
- all are relevant. It's never easy slicing up a complex topic into categories.
Inevitably, the categories overlap and intertwine. Nevertheless, creating
categories is necessary in order to make a study manageable. For this
psychology of cyberspace, I've chosen to divide the pie into six slices.
The first section is an exploration of what makes cyberspace "psychological."
The next three deal with the individual's reaction to cyberspace (a one-person
psychology), the relationship between individuals (a two-person psychology),
and the interpersonal dynamics among groups of people (a group or community
psychology). No psychology of anything would be complete without a discussion
of the research methods used - which is the purpose of section five. Finally,
section six is the historical origin of this hypertext book. My inspiration
to study and write about cyberspace began with the online community called
"
Palace." My intensive
case
study there led to a deeper understanding of that particular community,
but it also expanded my research outward into a wide variety of topics
in the psychology of cyberspace.
The Basic
Psychological Qualities of Cyberspace
Cyberspace is psychological space. Its social
climate partly is shaped by its demographics.
As a world structured by machines rather than the physical environment,
it also is a space with some rather unique psychological
features - such as reduced or altered sensory experience, the opportunity
for identity flexibility and anonymity, the equalization of social status,
the transcending of spatial boundaries, the stretching and condensation
of time, the ability to access numerous relationships, and the capacity
to record permanent records of one's experiences.... to name a few. It
is a world with its own language. As a virtual
reality, it can offer us true-to-life experiences as well as highly
imaginative scenarios. The multimedia chat experiences
- where people interact in imaginative visual scenes while shape-shifting
their image and identity through the use of "avatars" - highlight this
highly creative path of virtual reality. Cyberspace may even be an altered
state of consciousness, a dreamlike world,
that addresses a basic human need to experience oneself and reality from
a different perspective. It is psychological space that becomes an
extension of one's conscious and unconscious mind . We could even
imagine the global network that comprises the whole internet as a larger
transcending mind or "self" which reflects
the evolution of human consciousness. The first conscious machine maybe
not come as a stand-alone HAL 9000, but as the internet-mind. A grandiose,
but conceivable thought! But let's not be fooled into thinking that everything
about the internet is grand. Cyberspace is not always benign. It also
has the power to inflict frustration, apprehension, and stupidity, as
revealed in our jokes about computers and the
internet. Sometimes, it even fails at its fundamental duty to be interactive,
to respond to our needs, resulting in a black
hole experience that can draw out the underlying anxieties of those
who fall into it.
The Psychology of
the Individual in Cyberspace
The altered social reality of cyberspace has some very interesting things
in store for the individual. People can take on unique
roles that may be very different than those in their "real" life.
For example, they can be "wizards" with special
powers who help govern an online community, or even a "god"
who creates a whole online world. The anonymity created by the lack of
face-to-face cues in many environments (such as chat and e-mail) also
gives one an opportunity to experiment with new ways to express oneself,
to experiment with new ways to present one's
identity. A person can even switch gender,
if she/he so chooses (do you think you'd be able to tell?). Others use
online anonymity as an opportunity to act out in ways that annoy, hurt,
or take advantage of others. Norman Holland would attribute their behavior
to "the internet regression" - the tendency
of internet anonymity to encourage immature ways of feeling and acting.
Some of these deviant users I call "the bad boys
of cyberspace." They have found a slew of ways to misbehave, forcing
community leaders to develop all sorts of creative tactics to deal with
them. While the psychological qualities of cyberspace partly determine
how the individual behaves there, it is the individual's own psychological
make-up and personality type that also
shapes his or her online lifestyle. Machine and human interact to create
cyberspace. Because more and more young people are venturing out onto
the internet, it's important to understand how the particular character
and developmental features of adolescents affects
what they do there. Whether people are young or old, their unconscious
thoughts and emotions shape how they react to computers and cyberspace
- what psychologists call "transference reactions."
A powerful example of how computers and the internet can activate all
sorts of hidden thoughts, feelings, and anxieties is evident in the Y2K
phenomenon. Is it the end of the world, or is our "imagination" running
away with itself?
Computers and the internet are good... or
are they? Might people be harmed if they become "addicted"? Some think
that cyberspace can damage mental health, and that people with psychological
and lifestyle problems tend to use it as an escape or to vent their frustrations
on online others. Computer and cyberspace addiction
is a controversial topic. We can speculate about the features of pathological
internet use, but is it a genuine mental disorder? While some mental health
professionals have made jokes about it, other
researchers are seriously developing addiction
questionnaires as a first step in understanding the symptoms and causes
of this psychological problem. If the media is a valid indication, "internet
addiction" is an important topic, as evident in how frequently the media
reports it (for instance, here's an interview
with me). Research has not yet demonstrated definitively whether it's
a unique type of mental illness or a symptom of other problems. Yet there
are people who will admit that they feel obsessed, as evident in personal
accounts of "ex-addicts" who attempted to quit cold
turkey. As a member/researcher of the Palace chat community, I've
walked around in the cybershoes of a Palatian in order to understand the
pros and cons of an avid cyberspace lifestyle. As a clinical psychologist,
I've tried to systematically explore the conceptual issues about the
spectrum of needs underlying healthy and pathological internet use.
Now that's a lot to read, so if you want my opinion - in a nutshell -
about internet addiction, here's the article
for you! It's also a short lesson in modern journalism. If there's any
one single piece of advice I would give people who want to be healthy
in their use of the internet, it would be the "integration
principle" - the importance of bringing together one's online and
offline living.
The Psychology
of Cyberspace Relationships
People are finding new relationships on the internet - some
are transient, some longterm. Critics complain that online relationships
are superficial or based more on personal fantasies than on reality. In
some cases this is true. Internet romances
vividly illustrate how people can get caught up in a illusion of love
that eventually leads to disappointment. Transference
reactions surely distort how people perceive and react to each other
when they must contend with limited face-to-face cues. However, some online
romances do lead to fulfilling marriages. And people do find true friendships.
Cyberspace relationships can definitely be rewarding. The question is
not so much whether online encounters are real or meaningful - but rather
how people meet online, how they communicate, how those relationships
develop. Even though it happens almost exclusively using typed text, e-mail
relationships can be remarkable rich and subtle in how people reveal
themselves to each other. Because it is so easy to use, and so versatile,
e-mail is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of relationships in the new millennium.
If you wish to feel the presence of your companion in real time, the alternative
is chat. Typed-text chat is a much more terse
style of conversing than e-mail, yet people - out of their intrinsic human
need to express themselves to others - have become remarkably versatile
and creative in adapting to text-talk. Chat also promises to move relationships
beyond text-only communication. In the multimedia chat worlds, encounters
using avatars have added a fascinating visual dimension to how people
express themselves as they pursue their online relationships. Even the
combination of very simple graphics with typed-text produces fascinating
variety and subtlety in multimedia chat. As experts in a particular type of relationship
- the healing relationship that is psychotherapy - mental health professionals
are exploring the possibility that cyberspace may serve as a useful media
for working with their clients (see the table
of contents for the subsection about psychotherapy). We can classify,
study, and design computer-mediated therapy
according to five dimensional features of the communication pathway between
the therapist and client: synchronous/asynchronous, text/sensory, imaginary/actual,
automated/interpersonal, and invisible/present. Each feature has its advantages
and disadvantages. Online therapy, in particular, is a very controversial
topic, but not as controversial as another possibility - computers
conducting psychotherapy on their own. "Eliza" was the first computerized
psychotherapist. Other more powerful ones may follow. Perhaps the most
fascinating application of cyberspace in the mental health field will
be the creation of psychotherapeutic virtual environments. In what I call
"avatar psychotherapy," for example, the
client and therapist can enact imaginary scenarios for the purpose of
exploring and altering the client's sense of self. Online clinical/community
psychology will also attempt to maximize the well-being and growth-promoting
features of virtual groups. In the years to come, professional
study groups that systematically examine psychotherapy cases can test,
refine, and expand the emerging hypotheses
about online therapeutic activities.
In the showdown between
in-person and cyberspace relationships, which will win? Relationships
are built on shared words and meanings, on understanding. They are built
on seeing, hearing, touching the other. With it's ability to isolate and
alter time and sensory experience, cyberspace offers fascinating new ways
for people to communicate. But it has its drawbacks too. You can't hold
your loved one in cyberspace. Ultimately, cyberspace is a supplement and
alternative to in-person relationships, not a substitute.
Group Dynamics in Cyberspace
What makes the internet so much more powerful than other forms of communication
(e.g., the telephone) is its versatility in helping people find, join,
and form groups. Despite where they live in the world, people with similar
backgrounds and interests can come together in chat communities, mailing
lists, and newsgroup forums. A social psychology
of these online groups can draw on many of the well-known principles
that apply to in-person groups. For example, the
developmental stages of mailing lists closely resemble those of many
types of groups found in the face-to-face world. However, social psychology
also will need to adapt its concepts to the different linguistic, temporal,
and visual styles of communicating in cyberspace. The
group dynamics of "text talk" in chat rooms is rather unique compared
to face-to-face groups because people converse only with typed text. Decision-making
in mailing lists may require different strategies than in-person groups
due to this text-only conversing, in addition to the fact that the group
doesn't meet in "real time." Actually, making decisions in these lists
can be so frustrating that you sometimes wonder how
many list members it would take to change one light bulb! Despite
such difficulties, there are many unique advantages to extending
an in-person work group into cyberspace by creating an e-mail list.
In chat environments, if people want more than typed text, the addition
of even simple graphics can add subtlety to multimedia
chat that is quite different than the subtle social cues of in-person
gatherings. The challenge is to develop an online community
psychology that integrates traditional in-person theories with new findings
from cyberspace research. Some online groups
are quite unique and may never have formed in the face-to-face world
due to geographical obstacles, or simply due to the fact that the interests,
backgrounds, and needs of the people were so unique that they could not
find each other in the real world. An excellent example is the Geezer
Brigade - feisty, irreverent seniors who prefer not to associate themselves
with the stereotype of "seniors," but rather with other spunky geezers.
My article explores the origin and beliefs of their Brigade, as well as
outlines the steps in studying any online group. In a collection of other
articles, I've focused on the Main Mansion community that uses the Palace
chat software. In that intensive case study
of Palace, I've covered a range of topics relevant to an online community
psychology. What happens during the birth and
early history of an online community ? Who are the leaders and how
do they manage the group? At the Palace, wizards
are the heart of the society. Their rather complex job combines the
roles of host, educator, parent, therapist, and police force. That last
role points to another major issue in an online community psychology:
the causes of deviant behavior in cyberspace and
how to manage it. As my long article on that topic reveals, the community
leader's tactics for dealing with misbehaviors need to be as varied and
complex as the misbehaviors themselves. On the lighter side, social psychological
principles can be used to create entertaining and educational activities,
such as group games using avatars.
The internet offers many new opportunities
for online therapy and support groups.
Mental health professionals are exploring how chat, e-mail, and newsgroup
forums can be used for group interventions. Grass roots self-help groups
are springing up all over the internet, often fulfilling needs that could
not be met by in-person organizations. One of my students, Wende Phillips,
conducted an excellent study of online ACOA groups.
Online chat and newsgroup communities with a more general population also
may be a place where people can therapeutically explore their identity
and new relationships. If that indeed is possible, then one goal of an
online community psychology is to discover the
techniques for creating and maintaining a health-promoting community.
Research Methods in
Cyberpsychology
Cyberspace has opened up a whole new world for social scientists to explore.
There's more than one way to skin a cat, and no fewer methods for studying
people on the internet. Statistical-minded researchers are just beginning
to apply quantitative techniques for understanding cyberspace behavior.
That's NOT how I've been doing my work. I've been more interested in what
some call "qualitative" research. My studies involve field observations
of how people behave in chat rooms, mailing lists, and newsgroup forums.
Ironically and conveniently, I can sit comfortably at home in front of
my computer while I'm "in the field!" Thanks to the very handy ability
to save permanent records to hard drive, I study my archives of chat,
e-mail, and newsgroup logs. I also frequently conduct e-mail interviews,
as in my study of the Geezer Brigade in which I outline the
steps in studying an online group. Most importantly, I believe firmly
in the power of participant observation - that
style of research in which the researcher immerses himself in the social
phenomenon he studies, so that he sees it from the inside and becomes
a subject in his own investigations. I am an onliner who both steps back
and looks inward in order to understand how I and others are behaving.
The participant-observer method presents the challenge of exploring how
subjective and objective knowledge intersect. On that score, my psychoanalytic
training has been invaluable. My research at the Palace is a good example
of this participant-observation method (check out my
analysis of my own avatar collection!). Such intensive
case studies allow for a holistic understanding of an online phenomenon,
a comprehensive exploration of the many intersecting facets of a single
social environment. One especially interesting application of the case
study method would be an investigation of just how well cyberspace satisfies
human needs. If we locked people into an apartment, giving them only the
internet as a way to interact with the world, how would they fare in this
total immersion and f2f isolation?
Cyberspace is not just the target of psychological
research. It also can be the vehicle for reporting the results of that
research. Thanks to hypertext, ease of revivability, and interactivity,
publishing online offers exciting new opportunities
for composing articles and even books (like this one!). It also presents
some interesting challenges about how to evaluate the quality of online
works.
Last, but certainly not least, is the importance of ethics
in online social science research. Because cyberspace alters the temporal,
spatial, and sensory components of human interaction, it requires a unique
interpretation of traditional ethical principles - particularly in the
case of naturalistic studies. Informed consent, the right to privacy,
and the researcher's contribution to the people being studied are all
critical issues.
The Palace Study
As I've mentioned at various points in this overview, a big component
of my research has focused on the Palace. In fact, the Palace
case study makes up an entire subsection of this book. Combining features
of MOOs and chat rooms, the Palace is a visual and spatial environment
where members socialize in a visual scene with text, sounds, and visual
representations of themselves called "avatars." One long article delves
into the unique qualities of interacting with others using avatars
and graphical space. My work at the Palace also explores a wide variety
of other dimensions of this community: its language
.... it's early history .... the
wizards who host, educate, and police its population .... the vision
of its "god" creator, Jim Bumgardner .... its
addictive qualities as viewed from the perspective of Maslow's hierarchy
of needs .... its deviant members and the attempts
to control them (a rather long article!) .... the
dream-like qualities of the Palace experience .... the
subtle techniques for communicating with typed text and simple graphics
.... educational games using avatars .... how
Palace compares to other chat worlds.... There's a lot to read there!
If you want a quick overview, this book contains a
brief summary of my Palace study. What I consider so important about
my work at Palace is the fact is that clearly illustrates my emphasis
on participant observation research and the
importance of an intensive case study. Exploring
Palace in-depth has led me to a wide range of issues that extend outward
beyond the Palace community and into many realms that make up that complex
universe we call "cyberspace."
back to the Psychology of Cyberspace Home Page
www.rider.edu/users/suler/psycyber/psycyber.html
