Psychological Aspects of Cyberspace: Theory, Research, Applications

by Azy Barak (Editor )

Hundreds of millions of people across the world use the Internet every day. Its functions vary, from shopping and banking to chatting and dating. From a psychological perspective, the Internet has become a major vehicle for interpersonal communication that can significantly affect people's decisions, behaviors, attitudes and emotions. Moreover, its existence has created a virtual social environment in which people can meet, negotiate, collaborate and exchange goods and information. Cyberspace is not just a technical device but a phenomenon which has reduced the world to a proverbial global village, fostering collaborations and international cooperations; thus reducing the barriers of geographical distance and indigenous cultures. Azy Barak and a team of prominent social scientists review a decade of scientific investigations into the social, behavioral and psychological aspects of cyberspace, collating state-of-the-art knowledge in each area. Together they develop emerging conceptualizations and envisage directions and applications for future research.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2008

Reviews

[Usfromdk]

Not a great book, and despite the relatively recent(ish) publication date a lot of the research included seemed dated. The academic/analytical level of at least a few of the chapters were completely unacceptable for a science publication like this, being little but collections of bullshit, buzzwords and theorizing, and in general the book is much too light on data and too heavy on (poorly substantiated, in my opinion) theory.

A few of the chapters covered topics in which I was somewhat interested, which was part of what kept me reading, and it's not all bad; but even the chapters covering 'interesting topics' were disappointing on account of the coverage feeling quite superficial.

[Kevin]

As a collection of academic essays as chapters, I felt it did a good job of presenting a variety of different aspects of the psychological aspects of cyberspace. Most poignant for me were the sections on positive psychology in cyberspace and psychotherapy in cyberspace. I feel that so often the positive personal/individual aspects of online life is overlooked by the view that cyberspace is addictive and for "techies". I particularly find the concept of "flow" in online environments to be fascinating.