Overview and “Guided Tour”

I have finally found time to sit a read through a page of Dr. Suler’s material, about a week after I stated that I have started my informal studies in cyberpsychology. I have also enrolled today in a cyberpsychology clinical study. More on that later. I am beginning with the overview and guided tour of the Psychology of Cyberspace materials, to get a feel for it.

Throughout this blog, I shall be quoting Dr. Suler’s text in orange text.

This paragraph gives a very good overview of how the curriculum is divided up…

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.

This seems to be a logical and progressive way to approach the subject, I will enjoy learning like this, I’m sure. Dr. Suler then goes on to explain each category in more detail.

1. The Basic Psychological Qualities of Cyberspace
The “disinhibition effect” is very interesting to me. This reveals how the anonymity of the internet encourages some people to “act out” in cyberspace as they wouldn’t do in real life. I have met some real ratbags in my time online over the years: spammers, forum trolls, scammers, etc. I’m sure that if I met some of them in real life, they would be very nice, polite, upstanding citizens who wouldn’t show a hint of their online natures.

I like this quote, as it sets the scene for one of my favorite topics…

As a virtual reality, it stretches across a wide range from the simulated true-to-life experiences of webcams to the highly imaginative environments of avatar communities. In this reality we gain new insights into the meaning of “presence.”

… the subject of cyber-presence is something that I am often discussing, and I have a blog dedicated to it. There will be a lot of overlap on this blog and that blog when I start studying this aspect in the curriculum.

Here’s something interesting, how do you view the Internet? Is it a “market place”, a “soapbox”, or a “mischievous, even hostile playground”? I’m sure there are times when it is all these things and more.

2. The Psychology of the Individual in Cyberspace
This is the aspect of the study that I am particularly interested in, as it relates to my intended career goal of becoming a cyber-sleuth. I imagine that computer forensic investigators who have to backtrace IP addresses through switches and routers would also benefit from an application-layer search of a username, and that such a search may involve multiple aliases and possibly gender changing as well. My time as a moderator on a popular teen chat site was reminiscent of the circus game “whack-a-mole”, trying to subdue a spammer who just keeps coming back as another username.

Eek! This subject also looks at internet addiction. I might have to do some introspection during this study! That is not a pleasant thought. I guess I expected it though, as I can’t just study cyberpsychology to point the finger at everybody else without remembering that there are three fingers pointing back at myself. Addicted? I’m not addicted!

I like what Dr. Suler has to say on the subject of healthy internet use…

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.

… this concept, and his previously stated contention that the internet “is psychological space that becomes an extension of one’s conscious and unconscious mind” is something that I practice already. My LinkedIn profile, for instance, is an extension of my written C.V. I see them as being intertwined and inseparable. Also, my Meez Gravatar is the visible extension of myself into cyberspace.

3. The Psychology of Cyberspace Relationships
Continuing the previous thought, what happens when the connection between your online and offline lives is severed? I have often thought about and discussed the issues surrounding real-life tragedy or death, and how that affects online relationships. How would a cyber-friend find out if something bad happens to you? Does a cyber-friend care enough to scour the online version of your local newspaper’s death notices? What about those online memorial and tribute sites? How close can you really get to someone on the Internet?

Some people get romantically involved online, only to find that, as we saw above, the object of their infatuation in real life does not resemble in any way who they are in cyberspace. It looks like this chapter of my studies is going to explore all these issues and more! “Ultimately, cyberspace is a supplement and alternative to in-person relationships, not a substitute.”

4. Group Dynamics in Cyberspace
This subject will again cause me to draw on my experience as a moderator on a popular teen chat site. I will probably get involved again during this part of the study, re-immersing myself into that world, in order to give the lessons some practical application. I will be studying the chapter on ethics in this curriculum first before I take such a step though.

Despite such difficulties, there are many unique advantages to extending an in-person work group into cyberspace by creating an e-mail list, or by extending a classroom into online discussion boards.

… This is something that will no doubt be put to the test in my more formal studies in computer forensics. I intend to create an online study group from among my classmates at university. You can see how that progresses on my Frittmann Forensics blog.

“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.” - oh, do I ever know what he’s saying here! Where’s my ban hammer?! hehehe.

5. Research Methods in Cyberpsychology
This is where my own studies will begin. I need to learn how to learn this subject, and I think that, from the perspective of a lay person, (as in, a non-psychologist), this category should have come first in the list. “Last, but certainly not least, is the importance of ethics in online social science research.” Definitely top of my to-do list!

Why am I studying cyberpsychology?

As I mentioned on the Curriculum page of this blog, my interest in cyberpsychology stems from my career goal to become a cyber-sleuth. I am in the process of trying to blend my two career histories into one. I have experience in the computer industry, and I also have experience in the security industry. In 2004, my 8 year career in the computer industry took a major direction change with the closure of my business, Computer Warrant of Fitness Ltd. Deciding to return to the safety-net of a regular wage instead of the vagaries of self-employed income, I began a whole new career in the security industry. But this career change was not as drastic as you might think. What I was actually doing while working in security was gaining valuable experience as an end-user in a multinational corporation. My position at Chubb New Zealand exposed me to a wider range of computer activities than I had access to previously. For example, even though I once worked at Telecom New Zealand, I had never previously had real access to a VOIP-based PABX system until I started working at Chubb. And intranet usage was only theoretical until I had the chance to use one every day in the security industry. My prior experience with Microsoft Exchange was from the perspective of an administrator and a VBA form designer previously, but my experience as an end-user at Chubb gave me insights that I couldn’t achieve with Microsoft Certified Professional training alone. So, effectively, my heart has always been set on furthering my career in the computer industry, despite my diversion into the security industry.

Another thing that I gained from my time in security is a clarity of what it is that I want to do in the computer industry. Half way through my time at Chubb, I moved to offender monitoring, and was exposed to the wonderful world of Justice, Corrections, and Law Enforcement. This exposure crystallized my intention to get into the field of computer forensic investigation.

Reading back over this post, I am amused to see that, so far, it has been more about computer forensics than about cyberpsychology. The reason that I started this blog in the first place was because my computer forensics blog, Frittmann Forensics, was looking too much like a cyberpsychology, ontology, and online identity blog. So let’s get closer to an answer to my original question, about why I am studying cyberpsychology.

To achieve my goal of becoming a cyber-sleuth, I believe that I need a better understanding of behavioral issues in cyberspace, to complement my formal studies in computer networking, ethical hacking, and computer forensic investigation. Rather than taking a conjoint degree, I have decided to do informal studies in cyberpsychology for now. I may take a postgraduate course in psychology later, but for now the focus of my formal studies needs to be in computer forensics, I believe.

Since about 1998, I have been aware of the website The Psychology of Cyberspace, created by John Suler Ph.D. of the Department of Psychology at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. I have read many of the articles from the website, and I decided to settle upon the website as a curriculum for my own personal, informal studies into cyberpsychology. I began earnest informal study of cyberpsychology on 1 June 2009, with the creation of this WordPress blog.

I have also posted a comment on Dr. Suler’s blog, to introduce myself and let him know what I am doing.

Hi John, I just wanted to let you know that I have started my own blog , Psyber Psychology to document my own informal studies into cyberpsychology, using your Psychology of Cyberspace website as my textbook. I had hoped to find your blog alive and buzzing here still, but it seems that nothing has been posted here since 2007. I will still be referring to your blog, and probably commenting and digging some of your old posts here while I do my studies. Thank you for making your wealth of knowledge available to the online community. I hope to at least do it justice.

So, that is what I am doing here. I have created the categories in my blog here to mirror the the subjects listed in the The Psychology of Cyberspace Table of Contents, and will make at least one post in each category once I have read through the information. I have no defined timeline for this study, and will just work through it at my own pace.

I hope to meet up with other people who are interested in studying cyberpsychology with me, and also people who have been through Dr. Suler’s material before. Owing to my acknowledged lack of prior experience, I welcome any constructive criticism and advice about how best to study the subject of cyberpsychology using The Psychology of Cyberspace materials, and I’m always keen to hear from other people who have worked through the material. I would ask that comments be kept brief, relevant, family-friendly and insult-free.