Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- PREFACE TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION
- 1 THE INTERNET IN A PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTEXT
- 2 YOUR ONLINE PERSONA: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMPRESSION FORMATION
- 3 ONLINE MASKS AND MASQUERADES
- 4 GROUP DYNAMICS IN CYBERSPACE
- 5 INTERGROUP CONFLICT AND COOPERATION
- 6 FLAMING AND FIGHTING: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AGGRESSION ON THE NET
- 7 LIKING AND LOVING ON THE NET: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION
- 8 PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF INTERNET PORNOGRAPHY
- 9 THE INTERNET AS A TIME SINK
- 10 ALTRUISM ON THE NET: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HELPING
- 11 GENDER ISSUES ON THE NET
- 12 NURTURING LIFE ON THE INTERNET
- Index
4 - GROUP DYNAMICS IN CYBERSPACE
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- PREFACE TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION
- 1 THE INTERNET IN A PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTEXT
- 2 YOUR ONLINE PERSONA: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMPRESSION FORMATION
- 3 ONLINE MASKS AND MASQUERADES
- 4 GROUP DYNAMICS IN CYBERSPACE
- 5 INTERGROUP CONFLICT AND COOPERATION
- 6 FLAMING AND FIGHTING: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AGGRESSION ON THE NET
- 7 LIKING AND LOVING ON THE NET: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION
- 8 PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF INTERNET PORNOGRAPHY
- 9 THE INTERNET AS A TIME SINK
- 10 ALTRUISM ON THE NET: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HELPING
- 11 GENDER ISSUES ON THE NET
- 12 NURTURING LIFE ON THE INTERNET
- Index
Summary
I can still remember the adrenaline rush when the “Leaders' Club” president informed me that my application for membership was approved. This was, I believed, the elite in-group in my high school – filled with the smartest and coolest students, the best athletes, and all the most popular people. The club was difficult to get into and current members voted on the worthiness of each applicant. It was demanding about the behavior of its members, and a time sink as extracurricular activities go. Once we emerged from the solemn initiation ceremony, we were allowed to wear green corduroy vests over our white gym suits with our names proudly embroidered on the back. Now, of course, I recognize that the Leaders' Club used a standard psychological recipe for creating a cohesive group with strong feelings of belonging, loyalty, and commitment. Group symbols, initiations, challenging entrance requirements, and heavy time demands were some of the ingredients.
Can you create any of that online?
“GROUPNESS”
Skeptics have always wondered whether cohesive groups could really emerge at all in a computer-mediated environment. Some believed that the lack of the usual social cues and the transitory nature of so many online interactions would make it unlikely that genuine and satisfying groups could develop. Certainly, forums that are intended to support a cohesive group come and go with alarming speed on the net.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Psychology of the Internet , pp. 55 - 87Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1999