Behavior in a cyberspace: Some psychological principles

Abstract

Development and the subject matter of psychology of the Internet, or cyberpsychology are considered. A definition is proposed for this field of science that is still in its formation stage. Some basic psychological principles governing Internet-mediated Human activity are introduced and analyzed. Among them there are anonymity, mobility, transfer (from reality to a cyberspace and back), reputation upgrade, immersion, distribution. It is noted that such a promising psychological principle as virtuality is inapplicable for cyberpsychology because of an excessive globality.