Human behaviors and social norms are transferred to the Internet in complex and divergent ways. The term online disinhibition has been coined to describe situations when Internet users seem to behave more openly and unrestrained online, often acting in ways they would not dare to act in the face-to-face world. According to Suler, there is a need for future research to "focus on which people, under what circumstances, are more predisposed to the various elements of online disinhibition." With this in mind, this descriptive study sought to determine whether or not people are more true to their authentic psychological identities (i.e., genders) during online interaction or create completely new identities because of the more permissive social norms created by cyberspace. Through video recorded face-to-face discussions, reflective online discussions, open-ended online surveys, and semi-structured interviews, qualitative data was collected for analysis. The results and findings demonstrated that some personality traits are magnified during online interaction, but individuals ultimately stay true to their established gender roles.

Four studies were conducted to examine whether disinhibited eating among restrained eaters can be differentiated from simple overeating, which occurs among both restrained and unrestrained eaters. We propose that disinhibited eating is caused by the conscious relaxation of inhibitions on food intake. In contrast, simple overeating is an umbrella term encompassing all forms of inadvertent overeating. This includes overeating in response to cues that redefine acceptable intake, and thus allow people to eat more than usual without viewing their food intake as excessive. Disinhibited eating in dieters should result in continued overeating in the absence of factors causing reinhibition, whereas simple overeating does not undermine dietary inhibition and should not result in continued overeating, and may not even be experienced as overeating. Furthermore, unlike simple overeating, disinhibited eating should be accompanied by perceptions that one has eaten too much. Study 1 examines whether restrained eaters who become disinhibited continue to overeat after the disinhibitor is removed. Restrained eaters who were disinhibited by expecting their diets to be broken, and only those restrained eaters, continued to overeat when presented with a second eating opportunity. Studies 2 and 3 assess whether simple overeating in response to normative cues can be distinguished from disinhibited eating in response to cognitive cues related to thinking the diet is or will be broken. In Study 3, restrained eaters who became disinhibited by thinking that their diets would be broken viewed their food intake as excessive and continued to overeat after the disinhibitor was removed. In contrast, restrained eaters who ate a lot after being informed that other study participants had eaten a large amount did not view their food intake as excessive and did not go on to overeat during a second eating opportunity. Study 4 was designed to further examine the role of awareness of having overeaten in disinhibited eating, but no disinhibition effect was observed. Overall, the results suggest that disinhibited eating can be distinguished from simple overeating on the basis of whether restrained eaters view their intake as excessive and whether they continue to overeat during a second eating opportunity.

Four studies were conducted to examine whether disinhibited eating among restrained eaters can be differentiated from simple overeating, which occurs among both restrained and unrestrained eaters. We propose that disinhibited eating is caused by the conscious relaxation of inhibitions on food intake. In contrast, simple overeating is an umbrella term encompassing all forms of inadvertent overeating. This includes overeating in response to cues that redefine acceptable intake, and thus allow people to eat more than usual without viewing their food intake as excessive. Disinhibited eating in dieters should result in continued overeating in the absence of factors causing reinhibition, whereas simple overeating does not undermine dietary inhibition and should not result in continued overeating, and may not even be experienced as overeating. Furthermore, unlike simple overeating, disinhibited eating should be accompanied by perceptions that one has eaten too much. Study 1 examines whether restrained eaters who become disinhibited continue to overeat after the disinhibitor is removed. Restrained eaters who were disinhibited by expecting their diets to be broken, and only those restrained eaters, continued to overeat when presented with a second eating opportunity. Studies 2 and 3 assess whether simple overeating in response to normative cues can be distinguished from disinhibited eating in response to cognitive cues related to thinking the diet is or will be broken. In Study 3, restrained eaters who became disinhibited by thinking that their diets would be broken viewed their food intake as excessive and continued to overeat after the disinhibitor was removed. In contrast, restrained eaters who ate a lot after being informed that other study participants had eaten a large amount did not view their food intake as excessive and did not go on to overeat during a second eating opportunity. Study 4 was designed to further examine the role of awareness of having overeaten in disinhibited eating, but no disinhibition effect was observed. Overall, the results suggest that disinhibited eating can be distinguished from simple overeating on the basis of whether restrained eaters view their intake as excessive and whether they continue to overeat during a second eating opportunity.

The problem of understanding how terrorists are psychologically enabled to undertake violence against other human beings is one that has not been adequately examined in past research on terrorism. Indeed, while much has been researched on discovering motivations for such acts, an examination and analysis of the loss of inhibitions as a significant factor in the overall process of becoming a terrorist has been somewhat overlooked. This thesis is an attempt to remedy this shortcoming in the literature, and therefore represents an inquiry into how the process of disinhibition relates to the overall process of terrorism. By examining a number of different factors theoretically and applying them to two contemporary cases of terrorism, this thesis aims to show that there are numerous disinhibitors in relation to acts of terrorism, and that, in some situations, these disinhibitors can relatively easily come into play.

A total of 320 rats were employed in experiments analyzing the phenomenon of disinhibition of an operant bar-pressing response. The parameters explored were type of "inhibitory operation" preceding the test for disinhibition, and modality, duration, directionality, intensity, and prior exposure to the disinhibiting stimulus. The disinhibition phenomenon was highly general, occurring under almost all test conditions. The phenomenon, however, could be produced during extinction only when probability of response was at a "critical" low, but greater than zero, level. When animals with the same "critical" response probability were tested during acquisition, before bar-pressing had reached a higher level of probability, disinhibition never occurred. Theories attempting to account for both the inhibiting and disinhibiting effects of extraneous stimuli were examined. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study aimed to investigate the reasons that players play the online game of Happy Farm(HF) on facebook, and to investigate the relationship among disinhibition, conformity and Internet addiction of HF¡¦s players. Data was collected from a sample of 298 players who played on HF. Instruments include three types of measures, HF Disinhibition Scale, HF Conformity Scale and HF Internet Addiction Scale. Data analysis methods included Descriptive statistics, Independent-Samples T Test, One-way ANOVA, MANOVA, Pearson correlation, and Multiple Regression Analysis. The findings from the study were summarized as follows: (a)There were more female players are more than male players on HF. (b)The main reason for the players to play HF is to kill time. (c) Players of HF did not show a tendency of disinhibition, conformity and Internet addiction .(d)There was a significantly positive correlation between disinhibition and Internet addiction on HF. (e) There was a significantly positive correlation between conformity and Internet addiction on HF. (f) Self-disclosure and compliance were the most significant predictor to predict Internet addiction on HF.

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This dissertation proposes a novel definition of anonymity, drawing on past definitions as well as psychological theory, to propose that pseudonymous identities can have a complex and nuanced influence in emphasizing certain personality traits when used in online discussion. This dissertation connects this definition to the Proteus Effect — the observation that individuals adopt behavior stereotypical of the avatars they use in virtual worlds (Yee & Bailenson, 2007) — to test how the presence and character of avatars in an online instant messenger influences aggression during political discussions. A 2x2 factorial experiment is used to evaluate participant aggression following small group deliberations between groups of participants assigned aggressive and unaggressive usernames and avatars, as well as accounts displaying an avatar and username vs only a username. A follow-up online experiment is used to show that similar effects of identity on behavior can be achieved simply by assigning participants to participate in similar tasks as moderators or as themselves.

Objective: To investigate differences in dietary intake variables and anthropometric measurements in healthy young adult women of healthy body mass index (BMI) with high and low scores of cognitive eating restraint (CER), disinhibition (DI), and hunger. Design: Cross-sectional study in which the Eating Inventory was completed along with the Block Food Frequency Questionnaire and anthropometric measurements using standard procedures and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, respectively. Participants: 65 healthy young adult women. Setting: This research was conducted in the Bone Laboratory on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia. Statistical analyses: Independent t-tests, Pearson correlation coefficient analyses, and general linear regression models. Results: Women with high CER scores (n=32; mean±SD CER score=13.1±2.4) consumed more fruits per day (2.4±0.9 svg/d) compared to women with low CER scores (n=33; CER score=4.5±3.0; fruits=1.8±1.1 svg/d; p<0.05). Women with high hunger scores (n=35; hunger score=7.5±2.2) consumed less fruits per day (1.8±0.9 svg/d) compared to women with low hunger scores (n=30; hunger score=3.0±1.1; fruits=2.4±1.1 svg/d; p<0.05). Women with high compared to low CER scores had higher body weight (p<0.05), BMI (p<0.05), fat mass (p<0.05), and body fat percentage (p<0.05), while women with high (n=31; DI score=7.6±2.5) compared to low (n=34; DI score=2.9±1.0) DI scores were taller (p<0.05). Hunger predicted estimated daily dietary intakes of total energy (p<0.05), protein (p<0.01), and fat (p<0.01), while CER (p<0.05) and DI (p<0.05) predicted estimated daily dietary fruit intake. Conclusion: In healthy young adult women, eating characteristics can distinguish between some dietary intake patterns and anthropometric measurements. Hunger is a predictor of estimated energy, protein, and fat intake in these women. / Master of Science

No / Obese individuals, especially those who are morbidly obese, are more likely to binge-eat and to have Disinhibition, as measured by the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire of Stunkard and Messick (1985). The latter characterises very opportunistic eating behaviour and signifies a readiness to eat. We argue in this chapter that binge eating and Disinhibition are deeply adaptive as mechanisms for dealing with one of the most fundamental of insecurities, that of food, especially in seasonal and unpredictable environments. It is only in recent decades, with improved food security in industrialized nations and the emergence of obesity at the population level, that they have become maladaptive in terms of health outcomes, and have been medically pathologized. Binge-eating and Disinhibition are no longer responses to uncertainty in food availability has they would have been in the evolutionary past. Rather, there may be other types of uncertainty and insecurity that lead to Disinhibition, binge-eating and obesity, and clinical practice should perhaps turn to examining these as higher-level factors that structure health and illness. These would include stress at work and in everyday life