Cybercology

Featured Videos

These videos are highlights of key CyberPsychology concepts that have been developed by academics and researchers in the field of CyberPsychology.

A short introduction to CyberPsychology

This video will give you a brief history of how the birth of the internet has changed our behaviour forever. 

It includes some key concepts that are fundamental to the discipline of CyberPsychology.

More brief introductory videos on CyberPsychology

What is CyberPsychology?

CyberPsychology and Cyber Crime

What your emoji's say about you

In this Tedx Vienna Talk (2017), Linda Kaye explains the results of research that she’s been doing with other academics on what our use of Emojis says about us and how we are viewed by those who receive our messages. 

Some key insights from the talk are: 

  • Emojis are used to ‘help others interpret our emotional state’ or ‘establish an emotional tone within communication’
  • Research shows that ’emojis reveal more about us than we perhaps realise’, in particular, characteristics of our personality 
  • Personality is multidimensional and psychologists often use The Big 5 personality measure of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness to Experience as a standard way to measure the extent to which people display these traits. You can find out more about the BIG 5 personality traits here, and you can take the personality test for free here. 
  • Those who are high in the Open To New Experiences (i.e. general open-mindedness) personality trait are more likely to use a wider range of emojis than other personality traits
  • The smilier the emojis used, the more the sender is perceived to be Agreeable (i.e. being more cooperative or considerate you are to other people), Conscientiousness (i.e. getting things done on time, being punctual), Openness to Experience (i.e. open mindedness)
  • Recipients of our online messages are accurately able to identify or detect, two particular traits: 1. Extroversion and 2. Openness
  • We’re better at judging the personality traits of those using emojis than making accurate face-to-face judgements based on our first impressions.

(If you are interested in reading the research articles, you will find the information within the presentation).

From cave drawings to emoji's

In his 2016 Tedx Toronto Talk, Marcel Danesi (Professor of Semiotics and Anthropology), presents the history of how images have been, and are currently being used, to communicate our ideas, feelings and emotions to others. 

Although this is not strictly a CyberPsychology talk, it does cover elements of our behaviour and brain functioning when it comes to emoji’s as part of our technological communication. 

Some key insights from this talk are: 

  • The symbols that we use to communicate (the words, symbols and signs) tell us what is happening in the brain
  • If you give a child something to write with and write on, they will instinctively start to draw – it is based on images that we have in our head that need to be expressed in some way – it is not something that we have to be taught
  • Pictures and drawings – from ancient to modern times, created by an esteemed artist or by a child – tend to elicit senses, emotions, and feelings
  • Writing, however, even when done in pictorial forms, such as hieroglyphics, requires process-type thinking – it requires you to step back and wonder what it means
  • History is the process of writing our events in sequence and putting our thoughts down
  • Our current alphabet has a long history of development that now allows us to ‘hear the sound’ of the letter written down
  • In education, we have separated out the creative and thinking parts of our brain – prioritising the thinking-based subjects above the creative-based subjects
  • In advertising, we have both the image and the text, which means our brain perceived the message as a whole and tells us a message with an integrated brain – which makes the ad more persuasive
  • In comic books, we are able to see both the visuals and read the thoughts of the characters – which helps us to understand the world and feel the emotional side of it
  • Emojis became popular as a universal language that is a common ground of communication
  • Memes are new ways of disseminating information – like ‘real life’ graffiti
Online therapy

New therapy is being developed around virtual Cyber Therapy. CyberPsyc have been building iPhone and iPad Apps to help those with fears and anxiety.

The App uses the principle of ‘graduating exposure therapy’ (slowly building levels of exposure) using computer generated imagery, helping people to overcome their fears in less threatening environments and to practice relaxation techniques while being exposed to potential anxiety triggers in order to help them conquer their fears.

(if you want to cut straight to how this therapy app works, start the video at 4:30)