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the TopHere are some links that should help you to understand the concept of cyber-psychology. Unfortunately, I was only able to come up with a few links related to this topic when I did a search on a search engine. However, these links are very insightful about the concept of cyber-psychology.
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the TopTo begin defining what cyber-psychology is, we should first define cyber and psychology separately. Cyber is computer and psychology is the study of the mind and human behavior. How do they tie in with each other? Well, many people view the act of working on a computer as an impersonal and introverted behavior. However, if you were to view the computer as a tool, and not as an entity in which people interact with, then it becomes clear the people are actually communicating with other people. The computer serves as a medium to facilitate the communication between millions of people. When people communicate the primary object involved is their minds. Therefore, a new field has been created through the internet because people are constantly using their minds to communicate on the internet.
Dr. James believes that computers act as significant extensions of the human mind. He also states that, "cyberspace is the virtual reality created by computers." Consequently, the form and characteristic of cyberspace is congruent with that of the human mind. Therefore, the study of cyberspace involves the study of the mind and human behavior. Cyber-psychology is the study of on-line personalities and the implications of cyberspace on people's minds when they are outside of cyberspace.
Although the concepts mentioned above are essential to the definition of cyberpsychology, it would not be complete without the concept of virtual presence. Virtual presence is a unique concept that is exclusive to cyberpsychology. Without virtual presence the field of cyberpsychology would be non-existent because there would be no substantial material online to be examined. According to Dr. James, virtual presence is created through access and usage, which is in turn determined by interests and intentions. This means that one's page or creation needs to be accessible and usable in order for it to have virtual presence. If no one ever sees one's creation, or is unable to access that creation, it would not exist to anyone else besides the creator. It would be like keeping one's thoughts or feelings to oneself without ever expressing it. Therefore, virtual presence is created when those thoughts and ideas are made available for others to see and use.
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the TopCyber-psychology is just another area of life where the concepts of psychology can be applied. Because cyberspace involves the mind almost exclusively, the field of cyber-psychology is significant to understanding the human mind. The same principles that apply to psychology also apply to cyber-psychology. These are the major principles that apply:
Back to
the TopEveryone should be interested in it as time goes on. The internet is growing very rapidly and its accessibility is expanding to include people of all ages and socioeconomic classes. Anybody who is on the internet would be interested in cyber-psychology because they can learn to examine their own mind and behavior. They can also learn of the norms in cyberspace and the consequences it can have on their minds outside of cyberspace. Even people who are not actively involved on the internet should be interested in cyber-psychology. The internet will grow to be a major factor in the shaping of society, and it would be a concern of all on how it will affect society.
Back to
the TopDr. John Suler's page gives a good summary of the topics that are addressed and need to be studied in cyber-psychology. This is his outline and links to those topics:
1.The Fundamental Psychological Qualities of CyberspaceThe outline of topics provided by Dr. Suler's page encompasses many of the topics in cyber-psychology. However, it does not cover all topics and Dr. James' article on cyberpsychology covers other areas. These topics include: the concept of virtual reality, creating a virtual presence, communal mind, spirituality in cyberspace, etc. As the internet continues to expand more topics and concepts will be introduced and studied.
Back to
the TopThe people interested in the field of cyber-psychology is very limited at the present time. By conducting a search on the terms "cyber-psychology," "cybercommunity," or "netizens" a limited amount of documents related to the concept of cyber-psychology would be found. Because the internet is in the beginning stages, there isn't a common awareness about the consequences or effects it can have. Cyber-psychology is a field that will attempt to study these factors. We are fortunate to have a unique professor (Dr. James) at the University of Hawai'i, who was daring enough to break away from traditional methods of teaching. He has created a cyber-community among his students from previous semesters to the present day. This community will continue to grow and study the concepts of cyber-psychology. I am sure that many more professors and teachers will begin to incorporate the field of cyber-psychology into their curriculums as the internet continues to expand.
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the TopVirtual reality is the dimension that is created in cyberspace. This dimension is infinite and is not bounded by physical barriers, nor can it be measured by physical principles. According to Dr. James, virtual reality is created by interactivity. This interactivity is what forms cyberspace and creates the dimension of virtual reality. Interactivity is created by the links and text that is available on the internet. There are also many other forms of interactivity, such as: newsgroups, chat groups, e-mail, listservs, etc.
Virtual reality is different from reality in that it is able to isolate the mind without physical barriers or influences. Therefore, virtual reality is almost exclusively created by the minds of millions of people interacting with each other through the internet. The human mind has no boundaries and its capabilities are still not understood to this day. The minds ability to imagine, dream and create separates it from the reality of the physical world. Dr. James feels that the virtual reality created in cyberspace is more "real" than real. This is a debatable statement that makes one think very much. What do you think about this statement? Send me your opinion.
Back to
the TopCyberspace is created by the minds of humans. From the creators of the databases and hardware to the people involved on the internet, the minds of these people expand cyberspace everyday. Cyberspace is the product created by the human mind, therefore it represents a portion of the human mind. Although cyberspace is limited by the amount of input it receives from the minds of people, its potential for growth is limitless just like the minds of humans. Thus, cyberspace is created by the communal mind of people all over the world. Through interactivity of minds cyberspace grows, and represents a microcosm of the minds of humans more and more.
This representation of cyberspace as a microcosm of the human mind becomes evident when the similarities between the two are examined. For example, the mind of a human has neither form or physicality, but is instead a virtual reality created by the brain. Similarly, cyberspace has neither form nor shape, but is a virtual reality created by the minds of humans through a computer. Therefore, the mind and cyberspace lie in the realm of virtual reality, but require the "hardware" of the brain and the computer, respectively, as a tool to create themselves. The mind can be divided into three aspects: affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor. The aspects of the mind that affects cyberspace the most are the affective and cognitive. The virtual reality of cyberspace is created by interests (cognitive) and intentions (affective). Therefore, the likes and dislikes, emotions, and feelings that are produced by the minds of humans are the building blocks of cyberspace.
Another similarity between cyberspace and the mind is the organization of information. The human brain organizes information and memories according to similarities or contextual cues. For example, people usually tend to recall names by searching for similarities in sound, letter, or meaning. If I were to try to recall the names of the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White, and couldn't correctly name all of them, it would not be uncommon for me to come up with a name that is either similar in meaning or sound to the correct names. I could have come up with the name "grouchy" in place of the correct name "grumpy." This illustrates how the search engines, bookmarks, etc. work when information is organized in cyberspace. Like the mind, cyberspace has its information categorized by similarities in topic area. These similarites between cyberspace and the mind should not be a surprising fact, because cyberspace is ultimately created by the minds of humans and cannot extend beyond that.
Back to
the TopThe question posed in the title was created by Dr. James. He believes that the act of clicking is a spiritual act. I agree with this statement, because the functionality of the mind and the human body is only made possible by the human spirit. Science can break down the physical characteristics of the body from cells to atoms to electrons, but it cannot explain the power or energy that allows the human body to live. Therefore, any human act is motivated and made possible by the spirit. The same applies to the act of clicking. When someone clicks on a link it is motivated by the spirit which acts through the mind of a human. The mind is composed of cognitive and emotional aspects, and these elements influence people to click on links they think is interesting. Thus, whenever you click on link it is a spiritually signficant act.
With that being said, the concept of spirituality is still unclear. I believe that the spirit of the human is only made possible by the power of God. However, Dr. James does not believe that the spirit can only be explained by religion. He believes that people are fooling themselves when they insist on defining spirtuality through religion, exclusively. He points out that there is a dualism of brain and spirit. They are separate entities that reside in different dimensions. For example, the brain deals with the sensory experiences of the physical world, while the spirit is an internalization of the thoughts and feelings that the mind produces. It is outside of time and space which puts it beyond the physical limitations of the world in which the brain resides. Thus, the spirit is the affective part of the human brain because it controls the motivations of a human by thoughts and feelings.
The act of clicking is a spiritual act because it is an intentional decision to communicate directly or indirectly. When the word communication is defined by its roots, it means "striving together." According to Dr. James, striving is a spiritual act because it is will and intention. This falls into the affective domain which is equivalent to the spirit of the human. Therefore, when one clicks on a link it is a spiritual act because it is an affective decision.
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