The online disinhibition effect

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Suler
Keyword(s):  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Online Disinhibition

Self-disclosure in Online versus “Face-to-Face” Counseling: A Survey among Clients (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Viktoria Binder ◽  
Markus Schott ◽  
Christiane Eichenberg
Keyword(s):  
Personal Information ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Online Counseling ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Total N ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Counseling Outcome ◽  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
Online Disinhibition

BACKGROUND Research proves the effectiveness of psychological interventions in online settings. There is some evidence that people disclose more personal information online than in real life, however, the results appear inconsistent. OBJECTIVE The primary aim was to find out whether people in online counseling disclosed more than individuals receiving “face-to-face” counseling, whether there were differences between the two settings in regard to counseling outcome and whether people in online counseling disclosed more about the counseling to confidants. METHODS A survey was carried out in various counseling centers offering both online and “face-to-face” services. The Disclosure to Therapist Inventory-VI was used to assess the amount of self-disclosure in both settings. Clients’ attitudes towards revealing counseling aspects to other people in their lives were assessed using the Disclosure About Therapy Inventory. In total N= 80 respondents completed the survey, 31 participants received online counseling (38.8%), 49 people had “face-to-face“ counseling (61.3%). RESULTS Contradicting the hypothesis, the present study disproved the assumption that self-disclosure is higher in online counseling. Whereas both samples showed similar levels of disclosure on different counseling topics, clients in “face-to-face” situations revealed significantly more about two topics: self-actualization vs. adaptation (P= .010, d= 0.6) and self-doubt/shortcomings (P= .003, r= 0.33). Two treatment characteristics, namely counseling duration and motives affected the degree of disclosure. In regard to the counseling outcome participants were moderately satisfied in both groups. People in “face-to-face” counseling reported significantly better treatment outcome in regard to the increased capacity to relate well to others (P= .026, r= 0.25). The assumption that a higher level of self-disclosure is associated with better treatment outcomes was verified only for online counseling (P= .024, ß= .470). Clients in both settings disclosed moderately about aspects of their counseling to confidants with no significant differences between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS The present study could not prove the online disinhibition effect for the counseling setting. As the number of studies conducted on this topic is relatively small the present study calls for further research on larger samples. Thereby, incongruities on self-disclosure can be clarified, possibly leading to the revision of current theories or the development of new ones.

scholarly journals The benign online disinhibition effect: Could situational factors induce self-disclosure and prosocial behaviors?

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noam Lapidot-Lefler ◽  
Azy Barak
Keyword(s):  
Eye Contact ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Prosocial Behaviors ◽  
Situational Factor ◽  
Online Chat ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Joint Solution ◽  
Online Disinhibition

The current study, which focuses on the benign effects of disinhibition, was designed as a continuation of an earlier study conducted on the toxic effects of online disinhibition (Lapidot-Lefler & Barak, 2012). Using a factorial design, the study examined the effects of three online situational factors—anonymity, invisibility, and lack of eye contact—on inducing self-disclosure and prosocial behaviors as expressions of benign online disinhibition. Random pairs of adult strangers (n = 144) discussed a dilemma and were required to reach a joint solution using online chat. Self-disclosure and prosocial behavior effects were measured using participants’ self-reports, expert judges’ ratings of chat transcripts, and textual analyses of the conversations. Results suggested that the interaction between anonymity and invisibility had a significant effect on the revealing of emotions. Lack of eye contact, the interaction between anonymity and invisibility and the interaction between lack of eye contact and invisibility had a significant effect on the inducement of first-person words. The interaction between anonymity, invisibility and lack of eye contact had significant effects on the total self-disclosure score, yet no significant effects were found for prosocial behaviors. A discussion of the findings with regard to previous research on toxic online disinhibition suggests that different factors play a role in the inducement of benign vs. toxic online disinhibition effects. More research is required to substantiate current findings and determine the nature of the contribution of each situational factor.

scholarly journals ANALISIS MANAJEMEN IMPRESI PENGGEMAR K-POP DALAM MEMANIPULASI DIRI DI SOCIAL NETWORK SITE (SNS)

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Annisa Fitriana Lestari ◽  
Eriyanto Eriyanto
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Impression Management ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
True Self ◽  
Social Network Site ◽  
Network Site ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Online Disinhibition

Various forms of internet products help people to have instant and easy activities, one of them is Social Network Site (SNS). Internet including SNS provides a place for users freedom of expression without having to be bound by rules like in the real world. Instagram as one kind of SNS, provides an opportunity for individuals to create more than one user account. This feature helps user to create an original account (rinsta) and fake account (finsta) that drives self-manipulation. Self-manipulation on real and fake Instagram accounts related to how individuals carry out impression management. Individuals set a good impression on the original account, while showing the true character on the fake account. Self-manipulation on the Internet more affects the psychological state of individuals to emerge different characters in offline, real and fake accounts. This character difference becomes a form of online disinhibition effect. K-Pop fans use variety of media to connect with their idols and fandoms, but they still have a concern of their self-image will be damaged in others people perspectives who are neutral or dislike K-Pop. The advantage of Instagram being able to have more than one account is a way out for K-Pop fans to manipulate themselves. This research was conducted using a qualitative approach with observations on real and fake K-Pop fan accounts, as well as interviews with users. The results of the study show that K-Pop fans use risnta as their front stage and finsta as their background to express their true self.

scholarly journals Netizens Anonymity in Indonesia’s Digital Democracy: Political Participation in Social Media According to the Online Disinhibition Effect Theory

PCD Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Pulung S Perbawani ◽  
Rahayu Rahayu ◽  
Irham Nur Anshari
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Digital Democracy ◽  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Effect Theory ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Online Disinhibition ◽  
Online Political Participation

The growth of social media in Indonesia has contributed to the increasing number of online political participation by the public. This phenomenon has brought forward the discussion regarding the pros and cons of online political participation, related to the participants’ identity. The lack of traceability regarding the participants’ identity has posed some questions, some of which are the accountability and legitimacy of opinions that are found on online political discussions.This research seeks to achieve comprehensive understanding on anonymity in political participation. By applying the theory of online disinhibition effect, this research attempts to explain the dynamic of anonymity, its implication towards political participation in social media, and to examine the consequences of anonymity towards the quality of digital democracy. Through survey, focus group discussions, and in depth interviews, this research address to achieve a comprehensive understanding towards the issues. The research findings show that the varied degrees of anonymity employed by citizens affect their social media usage and political participation. In addition, anonymity can be understood as the citizens’ coping mechanism from various possible consequences, such as legal and social retribution for both personal and professional context.

Effects of Priming on Online Discussion Behavior

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 335-335
Author(s):  
Hung-Tao Chen ◽  
Benjamin D. Horne
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Red Color ◽  
Online Disinhibition ◽  
Negative Sentiment

Online disinhibition effect describes the phenomenon where people feel less restrained in an online environment. People are therefore more likely to express thoughts and opinions that they normally would not share in a face-to-face interaction (Suler, 2004). Online disinhibition effect could either be benign or toxic. Students and instructors in an online learning environment often experience toxic disinhibition in several forms, including arguments about grades, emotional outbursts, potential death threat to the instructor, personal attacks, swearing, and heated arguments using upper-case letters (Rose, 2014). Suler (2004) proposed six factors that contribute to the online disinhibition effect. These six factors include dissociative anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, solipsistic introjection, dissociative imagination, and minimization of authority. Not all six factors proposed by Suler (2004) have received equal empirical evidence. Also, not all factors are relevant to online learning environments. This study therefore focused on the factor of invisibility and the lack of contextual cues as a result of invisibility. One of the ways to provide contextual cues in a situation that lacks face-to-face interaction is through the usage of color signaling. Color signaling refers to the usage of colored text to convey information (Elliot, 2015; Lemarié, Lorch, Eyrolle & Virbel, 2008). This study looked at the effects of red color signaling, because the color red has been associated with dominance and aggression (Elliot, Maier, Moller, Friedman & Meinhardt, 2007). It is also often associated with some type of warning sign, such as a stop light or a stop sign (Elliot, 2015). The implicit warning and danger conveyed by the color red has been shown to result in inhibited performance, such that participants who were exposed to the color red had lower performance on the subsequent achievement task (Elliot, Maier, Reidman & Meinhardt, 2007; Gnambs, Appel & Batinic, 2010). Similar effects have also been demonstrated in online gaming situations, where red priming messages lowered the amount of negative language usage (Maher, 2016). It is therefore likely that red priming message could also lower any potential toxic disinhibition in an online learning environment. The current study included two experiments that tested the effects of red priming message and black priming message on 1) participants’ expressed sentiment in their open- ended discussion posts, 2) participants’ self-rating of verbal aggressiveness, and 3) the total number of words generated in the open-ended responses. Past studies have shown that red color could inhibit task performance and reduce offensive language, but it is not clear how a red color priming message might affect discussion posts in a simulated online classroom. Similarly, black color has been shown not to inhibit behavior, but it is not clear how a priming message such as “exercise courtesy and professionalism” might affect participants’ behavior in an online discussion post. Results from the study indicated that red priming message caused participants to rate themselves as less verbally aggressive. This was likely due to increased attention to the priming message and the implicit warning conveyed by the color red. There was evidence that red priming message lowered the amount of negative sentiment expressed in the discussion posts. The results approached statistical significance, but it was not significant probably due to the low levels of negative sentiment expressed. Black priming message was found to be ineffective in lowering verbal aggression rating or negative sentiment expression. The findings from the current study have practical implications in the design of online courses. Instructors could use red priming messages as a strategy to promote a less verbally aggressive and negative online discussion environment.

scholarly journals Online and Offline Behavior: Does one Predict Another?

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 98-108
Author(s):  
I.B. Bovina ◽  
N.V. Dvoryanchikov
Keyword(s):  
Emotional State ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
The Other ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Online Disinhibition ◽  
Sharp Criticism ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of the paper is to analyze the relationship between online and offline behavior by using the online disinhibition effect as an example. A person behaves differently online in comparison with the same situations offline. The two forms of disinhibition are discussed: 1) benign or positive disinhibition, when a person shares very personal information, reveals his secrets, fears, does not hide his emotional state, his experiences, he tries to help the other, showing extreme generosity and care 2) toxic or negative disinhibition — when a person shows rudeness towards the other, expresses sharp criticism or even threats, visits the sites, the content of which is very difficult to understand. Appealing to constructs such as deindividuation, reduced social cues, self-awareness — sheds light on the online disinhibition effect and allows us to talk about how behavior on the network relates towards offline behavior.

Online Disinhibition Scale

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kurek ◽  
Paul E. Jose ◽  
Jaimee Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Online Disinhibition
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