Online Disinhibition Effect

The Psychology of the Internet

Patricia Wallace’s The Psychology of the Internet provides a comprehensive research‑based overview of how online environments shape human behavior, emotions, and social interaction across contexts such as impression formation, group dynamics, aggression, attraction, altruism, privacy, gaming, development, and gender. The book integrates classic and contemporary psychological research to explain why people behave differently online and how those behaviors both reflect and inform social life on the Internet.

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The Online Disinhibition Effect

John Suler defines and analyzes the online disinhibition effect, where people behave with less restraint in online environments than they would face-to-face. He distinguishes between benign disinhibition (e.g., greater self-disclosure) and toxic disinhibition (e.g., flaming, rude behavior), and identifies six psychological factors that contribute to this phenomenon.

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