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.

Deindividuation is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a given environment reduces the "individuality" or identifiability of a person. These environments may cause a psychological reduction in self-consciousness, potentially leading to violations of sociocultural norms (Festinger, Pepitone, & Newcomb, 1952; Singer, Brush, & Lublin, 1965). The present research sought to empirically test deindividuation theory among automobile drivers utilizing the anonymizing factor of observation. Participants (N = 31) used a driving simulator and were either in the observed condition or an unobserved condition. Analysis of driving data did not reveal significant results, however self-report data had some interesting trends. Though limited in scope, this research begins to shed light on deindividuation of drivers and may provide a foundation for future research.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur stor erfarenhet svenska studenter har av, och hur stor rädsla de har för, nättroll. Ett annat syfte var att undersöka om erfarenheten har ett samband med deras eventuella rädsla för nättroll. Studien ämnar även undersöka vad svenska studenter har för definition av nättroll. Datainsamlingen utgjordes av en elektronisk enkät bestående av en självkonstruerad Likertskala (Troll-Likert) som distribuerades via webbplattformen survey & report. Skalan har aldrig tidigare använts i annat forskningssyfte. Deltagarantalet var 93 studenter. För att undersöka och analysera resultatet användes såväl kvantitativ som kvalitativ metod. Till den kvantitativa delen användes Spearmans rangkorrelationskoefficient och en enkel regressionsanalys. I fråga om den kvalitativa delen användes tematisk analys enligt Braun och Clarke (2006). Resultatet av studien visade att studenterna både hade en hög erfarenhet och rädsla för nättroll. Regressionsanalysen resulterade i ett värde på r2= 0,120. Spearmans resultat visade på en signifikant korrelation mellan rädsla och erfarenhet och regressionslinjen visade att studenternas rädsla kan till 12% förklaras av deras erfarenhet. Den tematiska analysen resulterade i ett tema som sammanfattar respondenternas definitioner av nättroll: personer som provocerar fram reaktioner för nöjes skull. / The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Swedish students have experience of, and / or fear of, online trolls. Also, if there was a connection between them two. The study also intended to investigate what definition of online trolls Swedish students had. The data collection was made up of an electronic questionnaire consisting of a self-designed Likert scale (Troll-Likert) distributed via the web survey & report. The questionnaire has never been used for any other research purposes. The number of participants was 93 students. To investigate the results both a quantitative and a qualitative method were used. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and a regression analysis were used as in the quantitative method and a thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke (2006) was used in the qualitative method. The study showed that the students both had a high experience and fear of online trolls. The regression analysis resulted in a value of r2 = 0.120. Spearman's results showed a significant correlation between fear and experience and the regression line showed that the students' fear can be explained to 12% by their experience. The thematic analysis resulted in one theme which summarizes the respondents' definitions of online trolls: people who provoke reactions for pleasure

The recent breakthroughs in communication technologies have reintroduced the user to Internet. Media consumers became empowered with the capabality to produce, and will gradually shift from the traditional role of an audience to generate content, compete with mainstream media and construct new social and cultural realities. The impact user-generated-content is having over individuals and groups is still ambiguous and requires a better understanding of both the nature of UGC and the particularity of social media platforms as a channel. The pupose of this paper is to further the discussion on how user-generated-content impact audiences in terms of opinion and behavior, particularly during periods of crisis.

It can be observed that the anti-normative behaviors occur more frequently in Computer-Mediated-Communication than in face-to-face communication. Internet often let people feel less restraint to use rude or threatening language, leashing harsh criticisms, venting anger or hatred. Thus, the issues surrounding ¡§Toxic Disinhibition¡¨ have attracted more and more concern from society and academia. Our empirical study tries to get the whole picture and proposed a more comprehensive model integrating diverse factors and involving the synthesis of different viewpoints. Accordingly, this paper proceeds to examine and integrate the two important aspects, (1) Internet attributes in which reduced social cue, social presence, controllability, and the fluidity of the identity and (2) psychological state, especially theories of deindividuation.Moreover, different from most prior researches, we consider deindividuation as an important mediating role, not just an antecedent of toxic disinhibition. An empirical survey methodology is applied to test the research model and six hypotheses are developed in this study, and then we use PLS to analyze it. Our empirical results showed that the essential mediating role of deindividuation, also confirming the highly significant with toxic disinhibition. Moreover, we identify major factors that may affect deindividuation. We find that except for reduced social cue, reduced social presence, controllability and fluidity of identity also has significant impact on deindividuation, and then cause toxic disinhibition. In sum, unlike much prior research that has focused on only a limited aspect of toxic disinhibition, we take integrated view and proposed a more comprehensive model therefore be useful to a better understanding of the nature of toxic disinhibition. And this study provides some suggestions for the online disinhibition research.

Uppsatsen centrerades kring ett accelererande problem- med konsekvenser även för skolan - nämligen de digitala kränkningarna. Syftet med själva projektet är att primärt belysa hur skolledning och skolpersonal dels uppfattar och dels hanterar möjliga digitala kränkningar, oavsett var och hur dessa kränkningar framförs.Uppsatsen bygger på intervjuer med nyckelinformanter i skolorganisationen i en kommun, från politisk nivå till verkställande nivå i form av rektorer m fl. Dessa intervjuer speglas mot svar från Skolverket, barnombudsmannen m fl. Intervjuerna - med nyckelinformanter – visade på vissa svårigheter med detta problemområde. En svårighet visade sig vara ansvarsfördelningen skola - hem. Informanterna upplevde att en dominerande del av kränkningarna sker på fritiden och ansåg i varierande grad att detta är hemmets problem och inte skolans. En åsikt som inte helt delas av de informanter som har anknytning till Skolverket eller Barnombudsmannen.

abstract: The current study examines the role that context plays in hackers' perceptions of the risks and payoffs characterizing a hacktivist attack. Hacktivism (i.e., hacking to convey a moral, ethical, or social justice message) is examined through a general game theoretic framework as a product of costs and benefits, as well as the contextual cues that may sway hackers' estimations of each. In two pilot studies, a bottom-up approach is utilized to identify the key motives underlying (1) past attacks affiliated with a major hacktivist group, Anonymous, and (2) popular slogans utilized by Anonymous in its communication with members, targets, and broader society. Three themes emerge from these analyses, namely: (1) the prevalence of first-person plural pronouns (i.e., we, our) in Anonymous slogans; (2) the prevalence of language inducing status or power; and (3) the importance of social injustice in triggering Anonymous activity. The present research therefore examines whether these three contextual factors activate participants' (1) sense of deindividuation, or the loss of an individual's personal self in the context of a group or collective; and (2) motive for self-serving power or society-serving social justice. Results suggest that participants' estimations of attack likelihood stemmed solely from expected payoffs, rather than their interplay with subjective risks. As expected, the use of we language led to a decrease in subjective risks, possibly due to primed effects of deindividuation. In line with game theory, the joint appearance of both power and justice motives resulted in (1) lower subjective risks, (2) higher payoffs, and (3) higher attack likelihood overall. Implications for policymakers and the understanding and prevention of hacktivism are discussed, as are the possible ramifications of deindividuation and power for the broader population of Internet users around the world. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2015

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Humans have found ways to communicate with each other since the beginning of time. However, the way we communicate has changed over the years. Today we can communicate with people from all over the world by employing digital technologies, and this can sometimes be done without revealing individuals’ actual identity. With anonymity comes many problems, such as a lack of responsibility, the feelings of other people seem to be valued lower in an online setting than in the real world, and there are often no consequences for those who behave badly or unethically. This study investigates how our morals correlate with our degree of anonymity while we communicate in an online setting. To achieve the study’s goal, a social experiment, where participants had the choice to act either altruistic or selfish, was performed. The social experiment was in the form of an online competition and was conducted under two different conditions. In the first clause, the participants were completely anonymous and in the second, they were exposed with their full names and a picture with their face visible. The hypothesis for the study was that a higher level of anonymity reduces the feeling of responsibility, which causes a person to care less about her moral compass, and will therefore make more selfish choices. The results showed that this was not the case. A higher percentage chose the selfish option when presented with name and picture. However, the result also exhibited that the majority of the study participants felt a difference in their behaviour during the two clauses. / Människor har hittat sätt att kommunicera med varandra så länge människor har funnits på jorden, men sättet vi kommunicerar på har förändrats över tid. De senaste decennierna har denna förändring skett på en helt ny nivå. Idag kan vi kommunicera med personer över hela världen, och detta utan att nödvändigtvis avslöja vår identitet. Med denna möjlighet till anonymitet kommer många problem, såsom en brist på ansvar för ens egna handlingar. Det är lätt att dela sina åsikter och att bete sig dåligt. I de fall där våra ideer och åsikter sårar en annan person, finns det sällan något som kräver att vi ska ta konsekvenserna för våra handlingar. Denna studie undersökte om det fanns ett samband mellan förändring i vår moral och vår grad av anonymitet. Detta gjordes genom ett socialt experiment där deltagarna fick möjligheten att vara givmilda eller själviska. Det sociala experimentet skedde i form av en tävling online, två matcher under två olika förutsättningar. I den första matchen var deltagarna helt anonyma och i den andra var de presenterade med fullständigt namn och profilbild med synligt ansikte. Hypotesen för studien var att en högre grad av anonymitet minskar känslan av ansvar, vilket i sin tur får personen att ta mer själviska beslut. Resultatet från det sociala experimentet visade att så inte var fallet. En högre procent av deltagarna valde det själviska alternativet när de var presenterade med namn och bild. Resultaten visade dock även att en majoritet av deltagarna kände sig påverkade av sin grad av anonymitet, men inte tillräckligt att det skulle påverka deras beslut.

Has it ever occurred to you to wonder why a soldier would sacrifice his life by jumping on a bomb to save the rest of his brigade? Or why an individual in a gang might display respectable behavior when alone but swear and vandalize when in the group? The phenomenon of people getting pulled into crowds and adopting the group’s mentalities and behaviors has been recognized but not fully researched. However, it has been recorded in early literature and research that it is human nature to want to fit into a group, for example in Abraham Maslow’s (1943) paper, A Theory of Human Motivation, in which he proposed that the hierarchy of human needs includes a stage that emphasized an individual’s need to feel a sense of belonging.