Monica T. Whitty - Cyberpsychology: The Study of Individuals, Society and Digital Technologies

1. Chapter 07
2. Chapter 11
3. Chapter 12

1. Chapter 08
2. Chapter 10
3. Chapter 12

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MONICA THERESE WHITTY

UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, UK

GARRY YOUNG

NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY, UK

This edition first published 2017 by the British Psychological Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Whitty, Monica Therese, 1969 author. | Young, Garry, 1966 author.
Title: Cyberpsychology : the study of individuals, society and digital technologies / Monica Whitty, Garry Young.
Description: Hoboken : Wiley, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016014408| ISBN 9780470975626 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781118321126 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Internet usersPsychology. | InternetPsychological aspects. | InternetSocial aspects. | Virtual realityMoral and ethical aspects. | CyberspacePsychological aspects. | Computer crimes.
Classification: LCC HM851 .W4556 2016 | DDC 302.23/1dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016014408

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Cover image: Mina De La O / Gettyimages

The British Psychological Societys free Research Digest email service rounds up the latest research and relates it to your syllabus in a userfriendly way. To subscribe go to .

1. Opportunities and risks relating to young peoples use of the Internet (adapted from Livingstone, 2009)
2. The featurebased model: ranking predictions of likelihood of lying (adapted from Hancock et al., 2004)
3. Errors in decisionmaking with respect to scams (identified by Lea et al. 2009a, p. 24)

1. Measures of learning performance (adapted from Sun & Cheng, 2007, p. 666)
2. The general aggression models episodic processes (Anderson & Bushman, 2002, p. 34)
3. Example of a phishing email

1. Young peoples use of the Internet in the UK
2. Young peoples use of the Internet in the US

Digital technologies play important roles in both our everyday and working lives and will continue to increase in importance in the future. Given this importance it is no wonder that cyberpsychology has emerged as a new subdiscipline within psychology and is being taught in many mainstream psychology degrees as well as disciplines such as media and communications, philosophy, sociology, criminology and security studies. Wellregarded, highimpact journals have been available for some time that focus solely on cyberpsychology. Conferences have also been designed to focus on this topic and are growing in popularity. Cyberpsychology masters courses are sprouting up across the globe and the number of students drawn to these courses continues to increase most likely because the Internet continues to grow and affect peoples lives in new, challenging and exciting ways.

Cyberpsychology is the study of individuals, societies and digital technologies and the psychology of how these interact. Cyberpsychology applies psychological theory to explain how individuals interact in cyberspace and how these interactions might affect our offline lives. It offers a new way to define the self and society. In this book, we have attempted to cover the breadth and depth of cyberpsychology, although as the discipline expands it is likely to incorporate new and exciting areas and foci.

This book is intended as a textbook for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in psychology as well as other relevant degrees that incorporate psychology into their syllabuses. It aims to set out key theories and empirical research conducted within the field of cyberpsychology. It does so by also considering realworld problems and events, and considers how theories in this field might shed further light on our understanding of these issues. Moreover, it engages readers with novel and relevant issues encouraging them to critically evaluate the current literature and to take their own personal stance on particular issues.