I visited Dr. James' report to answer this question. Cyber-psychology is the study of people in cyber-space. Cyber-space is an environment created by having a computer and access to the World Wide Web. The psychology aspect studies how people think, act, and behave while on the Internet. Being on the Internet allows people to take on a different personality, something completely different than their own. While on the computer people are able to go to different pages that interest them and communicate with others who share their interests. These people may be in other states or other countries. These people do not know who you are and you can be a new person while communicating with them. Cyber-psychology seeks to observe how people on the Internet behave and how they can change their personalities.
Dr. James says that cyber-psychology creates virtual presence. I think that virtual presence can be created only in the computer which is why it is called CYBER-psychology. When I think of cyber I think about computers and the Internet. This is not something physical, but virtual which cannot be physically handled. If you do not have access to a computer or the Internet you cannot have virtual presence. This can only be created through use of the computer. If you do not have virtual presence then you cannot be studied using cyber-psychology. However, once it is achieved regular psychology changes to cyber-psychology, which will study your mind and how it behaves while in the Internet. How often you visit a page and what page you visit will show your interests.
According to Dr. James, the cyber environment can create an affective, cognitive, and sensory motor behavior in the user. Affective behavior is the emotions, thoughts, and feelings of the user. I think that as a person goes online these feelings may change. They may feel free to be anyone, someone completely different from their actual selves because no one knows who they actually are on the Internet. Your status doesn't really matter when you're online as long as you're interested in the same topic. At the same time that you can be anonymous the other person can be also, and you don't actually get to see the person so you lose that human contact.
The cognitive aspect is the thinking and analyzing of the user. This is how the user thinks while on the Internet. This allows the user to take more time to think about the answers to questions or analyze things better because all the information is in the computer and a click away. You can click on a link to find more information on a topic right away.
Sensory motor behaviors include the physical actions of the user. Because you are on the computer all you do is sit on the chair and stare at the computer screen. You don't move around much and your sensory motor behavior is limited. There is much to be learned through your senses and the use of your senses are limited when using the computer.
Cyber-space is like the mind. You can create things on the computer that do not really exist just like how you can think of something in your mind and it doesn't physically exist. It is the principle of dualiam- something can have a physical existance and at the same time be non-physical. Cyber-space is this way. What you see on the computer screen is physically present because of the monitor, but it doesn't pyhsically exist by itself. It is only present in the computer. Dr. Suler talks about dissociation in his report. In other words this is when the computer user changes his or her identity while on the Internet. This is an easy thing to do because no one knows who you are, they cannot see you. You can be anyone you want to be. You can up-grade your social class or even be a different gender. There are many reasons why people change their identities. They may want to see how the other gender gets treated, for instance, if you are a woman you may say that you are a man when you're online and see if you get treated differently. You can pretend to be someone with a high social status and see if you are treated better or with more respect. You are allowed to feel free, no one will be able to know exactly who you are except for who you say you are. It gives the user more flexability.
I think that basically anyone who has been on the Web would be interested in cyber-psychology. Today everything is being taken over by computers and almost everyone has had an experience with a computer sometime in their life. The Internet is also very popular and will continue to grow. Even my elementary school cousins are working with computers in school. These people who have surfed the Web will be interested to know how people behave while on the computer. Especially those who "talk" to people in other states or even other countries via e-mail would be interested to know the psychology of people while on the Internet. The person they are talking to may not be who they think they are talking to. It could be someone completely different. Also, the pages that a person visits and how often will say something about their interests.
Go to Dr. James' report for more information on this topic. Cyber-psychology is directed at understanding the relationship between the computer and the human mind. It seeks to find out more about how people behave while on the Internet and if their behavior on the computer differs from their everyday lives. If their personalities or actions are different than why? With the growing use of computers these days this will be an important field of study.
The topics of cyber-psychology include virtual reality which is covered in the next section, virtual presence means that you are not physically present in front of the person, but the words you are typing on the computer is physically there and the other person can read what you have written. Pretty cool, huh? I think that in order for virtual presence to be present you need to have access to a computer and more specifically the Web. Cyber-space is an environment created by the computer. By having access to a computer you are able to be in cyber-space. Having access is one thing, but you also need to make use of this access. By using the Web you are going to many pages and getting some kind of information from these pages. Visiting a page is different from using a page. By visiting a page you can just be browsing, but using a page is reading the information that is on the page and making use of this new knowledge. A virtual site is a site that doesn't really exist except on the Web. This is like a page on the Web and to get here you need a link or an address. By clicking on that link it will take you to this site or typing in the address.
I went to Dr. James' report for information. Virtual reality is not real in physical form. It is only the computer and more specifically the hard drive that is something physical. People who share common interests are a part of the virtual reality zone. They all end up on the same page of their topic, which can be shared by thousands of people at the same time.
By clicking with the mouse you are creating virtual reality. This simple act of clicking on a title will take you to a whole new page that contains a wealth of new information. This means that you can do all of this by just sitting on your chair and looking at your computer screen. You do not have to get up or even have contact with another person. This is the virtual part of it, you are able to do all of this, find all this new and interesting information and not even have any contact with a human being. But at the same time someone on the other side of the country is at the same page you are at and obviously shares your interest. You could talk to others with the same interest through e-mail. The words you are typing are physically there, but you don't know who the other person is and it does not really matter. This is the wonderful thing about virtual reality.
Virtual reality allows you to create or view something that is not really there. You can look at an image, but it is only in the computer. This is another example of the concept of dualism, which is the image existing in the computer (the physical part) and the image existing in your mind and imagination (the non-physical part).
According to Dr. James cyber-space and the mind are related. Cyber-space is a way of communicating with others through your computer. You do not have to be in physical presence of the other person to communicate. The only physical thing you need is the computer. This is the dualism principle. One thing can physically exist, but at the same time not be physically present. Not physically present means that it is mental or spiritual, how you think about it. Cyber-space does not physically exist, yet all the information that you read on the Internet is physically present through your computer monitor. The mind is similar. You have thoughts and feelings that only exist in your own mind, but it can become physically present through your senses. Through cyber-space and your mind you are able to create things that do not physically exist. On the Internet you can write a whole article which you created, but it will not be physically present because it only exists in the computer and once you shut the computer off it is gone. In your mind you can create imaginary things and only see it in your mind, not have it physically in front of you. These things are immaterial, it cannot be touched or held.
Dr. James talks about the ACS system. This is the affective, cognitive, and sensory motor behavior of the user. Cyber-space and the mind creates this system which means that in both you are able to have thoughts and feelings which is the affective part. The cognitive part is concerned with the thinking process of the person. Both on the Internet and the mind you are able to think and analyze the situation. The sensory motor behavior is the actions of the user. This may be the only physical aspect of cyber-space and the mind. You are able to pick up images through your senses and act accordingly based on what you pick up. When you pick up images through your sensory motor behavior you also use your affective and cognitive behaviors. When you sense something you have to think about it and analyze it. You can then act on what you have thought about. I think that cyber-space depends on the mind. In order for cyber-space to exist you need to use your mind to create it.
I think that clicking on a link allows you to explore different sites in the Web that contain new information on your subject of interest. Just by sitting on your chair, looking at the computer screen, and clicking the mouse you are taken to another place. By doing this you can go to another page of the same topic you are interested in, all this can be done in a matter of seconds. This is such a powerful mechanism of the Web, it saves the browser time by having this link right there. The user does not have to write the name and address down then do another search, just click on the title and it takes you right there. You may also screen sites that are inappropriate by eliminating the link.
Spirituality, as defined by the World Book Encyclopedia Dictionary, is "devotion to spiritual things instead of worldly things" and spiritual is defined as "of or having something to do with the spirit or soul." I think that clicking is spiritual because it shows your interest and intentions which is a part of your soul. You choose a particular title to click on because you are curious to see what is on that page. You are acting according to the definition because you are showing the interest of your soul, which is spiritual, instead of something that is material because by clicking you are in cyber-space and this is something that is not physically present or "worldly." So, clicking on a link is a spiritual act. By tracing what pages you have been to by clicking it will show a pattern of your thinking process, what your soul yearns to see. Using the mouse to click and enter a new page means that you want to see this new page, you are clicking on purpose.
Return to the top of this
page
Click here to send me a message!
