Titre du document / Document title

Plan 9 from cyberspace: The implications of the Internet for personality and social psychology

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

MCKENNA K. Y. A. ⁽¹⁾ ; BARGH J. A. ⁽¹⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ Department of Psychology, New York University, ETATS-UNIS

Résumé / Abstract

Just as with most other communication breakthroughs before it, the initial media and popular reaction to the Internet has been largely negative, if not apocalyptic. For example, it has been described as awash in pornography, and more recently as making people sad and lonely. Yet, counter to the initial and widely publicized claim that Internet use causes depression and social isolation, the body of evidence (even in the initial study on which the claim was based) is mainly to the contrary. More than this, however, it is argued that like the telephone and television before it, the Internet by itself is not a main effect cause of anything, and that psychology must move beyond this notion to an informed analysis of how social identity, social interaction, and relationship formation may be different on the Internet than in real life. Four major differences and their implications for self and identity, social interaction, and relationships are identified: one's greater anonymity, the greatly reduced importance of physical appearance and physical distance as gating features to relationship development, and one's greater control over the time and pace of interactions. Existing research is reviewed along these lines and some promising directions for future research are described.

Revue / Journal Title

Personality and social psychology review   ISSN 1088-8683 

Source / Source

2000, vol. 4, n^o 1 (105 p.)  (2 p.1/4), pp. 57-75

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, ETATS-UNIS  (19?) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Review ; Interpersonal relation ; Social isolation ; Quality of life ; Internet ; Cyberspace ; Mass media ; Anonymity ; Social identity ; Self presentation ; Risk factor ; Mental disorder ; Social interaction ; Personality ; Human ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Article synthèse ; Relation interpersonnelle ; Isolement social ; Qualité vie ; Internet ; Cyberespace ; Mass media ; Anonymat ; Identité sociale ; Présentation soi ; Facteur risque ; Trouble psychiatrique ; Interaction sociale ; Personnalité ; Homme ;

Mots-clés espagnols / Spanish Keywords

Artículo síntesis ; Relación interpersonal ; Aislamiento social ; Calidad vida ; Internet ; Ciberspacio ; Medio masivo de comunicación ; Anonimato ; Identidad social ; Auto presentación ; Factor riesgo ; Trastorno psiquiátrico ; Interacción social ; Personalidad ; Hombre ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 26872, 35400008635535.0050