Research and applied scholarship that have a positive societal impact require interdisciplinary collaborations. One such area is cyberpsychology, a field that emerged from the growth of new technologies, an increasingly interconnected world, and the recognition that human behavior and social interaction are at the heart of all enterprises. Cyberpsychology has profound implications for advances in computing.
Cyberpsychology investigates the psychological processes related to technologically interconnected human behavior, informing disciplines such as human-computer interaction (HCI), computer science, engineering, psychology, and media and communications studies.5 The field explores how digital technologies influence and transform human cognition, emotion, and social interaction, as well as the reciprocal impact these human elements have on technologies. At its core, cyberpsychology seeks to understand the dynamic interplay between humans and technology.
In an article on the age of cyberpsychology, Ancis3 reviewed five major areas relevant to cyberpsychology: online behavior and personality, social media use and psychological functioning, games and gaming, telepsychology, and virtual reality (VR) artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Psychological aspects of the human condition, specifically personality, perception, emotional functioning, and behavioral responses, are significant to these five areas of scholarship.
Cyberpsychology has contributed to an entire lexicon of terms and concepts, such as doomscrolling, FOMO (fear of missing out), and phishing, that have entered the public sphere and transformed the ways in which human beings think about and engage with technology. On a more granular level, cyberpsychology’s contributions have resulted in significant advances in many areas, including understanding the user experience, improving persuasive technologies and positive behavior change, and enhancing overall quality of life. This article draws on Ancis,3 focusing on the ways in which cyberpsychology has contributed to the field of computing and technology more broadly. It is not intended to be exhaustive; rather, it provides an overview of cyberpsychology’s contributions to computing and technology.
Cyberpsychology has also had an impact on disciplines such as human-computer interaction (HCI) and user-experience (UX) design. The design of interfaces that are intuitive and easy to use relies on psychological principles, and research on how humans perceive, process information, and interact with technology has informed the design of hardware and software to improve user comfort and efficiency. UX in particular is concerned with the experiential component of interactive products, such as hedonism, flow, satisfaction, and perceived enjoyment. Psychological research on emotions and motivations helps to create engaging and satisfying user experiences, leading to more compelling and effective design. Principles such as the iterative design process, ensuring that products meet the needs and preferences of users, and techniques such as user testing, persona creation, and user journey mapping are also grounded in psychological methods. Similarly, cyberpsychology’s emphasis on phenomenology, situated viewpoints, multiple perspectives, and researcher subjectivity is characteristic of HCI’s third paradigm.17
However, though UX research has borrowed from established psychological theories, it often does so without considering them in their entirety, and within a limited range of contexts. Moreover, differentiations between experiences such as cognition and affect are not clear in much of UX research. There is also far less inclusion of negative emotions and experiences in UX models and research compared with positive experiences, thereby limiting our understanding of technology adoption and use. Last, accounting for and incorporating broader societal constructs of use, such as the digital divide, impacts on well-being, societal consequences of misinformation, and civic engagement, remain relatively unattended to in HCI and UX research.
Other areas of computing significantly informed by cyberpsychology, but perhaps in ways not as explicitly acknowledged as in HCI and UX, include cybersecurity and cyberprivacy, virtual reality and artificial intelligence, the future of work, and misinformation and disinformation—areas that are arguably most emblematic of 21st century challenges. As the boundaries between humans and technology increasingly blur, cyberpsychology is fundamental to understanding this relationship, developing innovative and relevant research methodologies, solving global challenges, and creating meaningful sociotechnical configurations.
Cybersecurity and Cyberprivacy
Psychological research on decision making and cognitive processes has been fundamental to understanding perceptions and behavior in the areas of cybersecurity and cyberprivacy. Much of this work focuses on cognitive biases and emotional states, which inform the actions of both users and attackers.
Users/consumers. Cyberspychology illuminates psychological principles fundamental to the ways in which users perceive and engage with the Internet. For example, users differ in the degree to which they perceive benefits and risks associated with various technologies. One classification, associated with cybersecurity- and cyberprivacy-related behavior, defines users as benefit oriented, neutral, and ambivalent—profiles associated with consumer behavior. In the case of smartwatches, for example, ambivalent users perceive high benefits and risks, benefit-oriented users perceive high benefits and low risks, and neutral users are indifferent to benefits and risks. Despite higher usage, ambivalent users exhibit lower positive attitudes and intentions to continue using smartwatches than benefit-oriented users.19
Researchers have also studied perceptions and behavior around Internet use as a function of generational differences. As digital natives, Generation Z is more connected with technology than previous generations. Perceiving technology as integral to their daily lives, members of Gen Z leverage it for entertainment, education, learning, and activism. Gen Z consumers often express concerns about privacy, as well as concerns about the nontransparent use of algorithms for data processing. However, they are also pragmatic in their attitudes toward organizational practices in the digital economy.2
One construct that has provided deeper insight into consumer behavior is the privacy paradox, whereby individuals express concerns about privacy while engaging in behaviors that seemingly compromise it. This has wide-ranging implications for the use of technology such as smart wearable devices. More specifically, consumers’ willingness to disclose information for the goal of personalization on the Internet—despite the privacy risks—is known as the personalization-privacy paradox.11
Both cognition and affect play a role in these phenomena. Specifically, under conditions of diminished information processing—such as in the case of cognitive demands or affective experiences such as a positive mood state—people are less likely to make decisions based on strongly held beliefs (see Petty and Cacioppo28). For example, a consumer’s positive emotional state, such as happiness with the Internet, mediates the negative effects of information-collection concerns on their willingness to disclose personal information.11
Interestingly, cybersecurity experts are as vulnerable to phishing and social engineering attacks as those who are not cybersecurity experts.7 A deep understanding of the perceptual, cognitive, and emotional mechanisms that result in lapses of judgment or even behavior incongruent with one’s intellectual understanding is vital to minimizing such threats.
In addition to cognitive and emotional states, personality models have provided insight into human behavior vis á vis technology. The “big five” personality theory, also known as the five-factor model, is a widely accepted framework that has been applied to a broad range of cyber-related behaviors, including cybersecurity. The model identifies five general dimensions that capture variations in human personality and are viewed as relatively stable over time. For example, the personality factors of conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness have been found to be significantly associated with self-reported cybersecurity behaviors.33
Broadly speaking, cyberpsychology principles have been critical to modern-day cybersecurity and cyberprivacy in several ways. One way is through the design of security systems and mechanisms that are both effective and easy to navigate. Concepts such as the privacy paradox have influenced the design of privacy settings and controls in smart wearable devices, social networking sites, and mobile applications. The goal is to minimize user errors and ensure compliance without causing frustration or inconvenience. Psychological insights into memory and cognitive processes are used to develop more secure and user-friendly authentication methods, such as cognitive password schemes that are harder for attackers to guess but easier for legitimate users to remember. In addition, cyberpsychology principles have been useful in the design of incentives and nudges to promote security behaviors among users.
Attackers. Social engineering attacks represent a serious security threat. The wide applications of social networking sites (SNSs), the Internet of Things (IoT), the industrial Internet, and wearable and mobile devices, as well as the weakening of security zone isolation have increased data accessibility and improved service quality and productivity. These applications, however, have simultaneously created more attack vectors, allowing attackers to easily reach and influence large numbers of victims and craft more convincing social engineering attacks.
These attacks leverage psychological principles to manipulate human behavior and exploit human vulnerabilities, posing severe security threats across human, cyber, and physical domains. Attackers exploit people’s cognitive biases through techniques such as phishing, pretexting, and baiting to manipulate human behavior and gain unauthorized access to systems.12 They use deception, persuasion, manipulation, and other influence techniques to persuade others to disclose personal data, divulge confidential or personal information, or perform actions that will benefit the hacker21—a process called cognitive hacking.13 Emotional, cognitive, and physical states such as stress, fatigue, and burnout are human factors that allow hackers to take advantage of people’s debilitated state and lack of awareness.16 Moreover, by employing dark patterns—design choices that manipulate users into behaviors such as disclosing their personal information39—designers make it difficult for users to effectuate their privacy preferences.
In addition to elucidating the strategies cyberattackers use to exploit people and systems, cyberpsychology is critical in addressing cybersecurity threats by providing mechanisms to more easily identify potential breaches and intervene to minimize harm. For example, the field provides insights into the psychological profile of attackers and ways to hinder their efforts. Researchers can create profiles that help detect anomalies in user behavior patterns, and machine learning algorithms trained on normal network behavior can identify deviations indicative of a breach.
Relatedly, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), an organization within the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, recently created the Reimagining Security with Cyberpsychology-Informed Network Defenses (ReSCIND) program. Here, traditional cybersecurity is combined with the emerging field of cyberpsychology to engineer cyber technology with the aim of potentially thwarting attacks and exposing attackers’ identities. The program is focused on exploiting the cognitive weaknesses of attackers by leveraging their human limitations, such as innate decision-making biases and cognitive vulnerabilities, to disrupt their attacks.
Understanding the psychological aspects of social engineering is crucial for developing effective defenses. Psychological insights into cybersecurity strategies may be used to better protect individuals and organizations from the multifaceted threats posed by modern social engineering. For example, insights from how humans handle uncertainty and deception have contributed to adversarial learning techniques, whereby machine learning models are trained to recognize and defend against attacks. Computing security has thus evolved from having a purely technical focus, such as on firewalls and similar protections, to incorporating relevant insights into human behavior and psychological vulnerabilities. This approach now includes attacker-focused strategies and the development of systems to counter social engineering attempts.
VR and AI Applications
The integration of cyberpsychological principles into the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) has led to profound developments, including technological advances with direct applications to societal challenges such as healthcare and learning. Cyberpsychology has enhanced the effectiveness, usability, and relevance of these technologies, ensuring they are aligned with human needs and capabilities.
AI systems are informed by models of human cognition, which incorporate research findings on perception, decision making, and learning.40 AI simulates human intelligence in machines, whereby technological devices are programmed to mimic human thought processes and perceptions. This includes AI systems programmed to recognize and respond to human emotions,40 informed by psychological research on facial expressions, vocal intonations, and physiological responses. Moreover, insights from psychology have helped in creating algorithms that predict and influence human behavior. This has been particularly useful in personalized recommendations and targeted advertising, the clinical arena, and learning and education.
Cyberpsychological principles and research on emotions and cognition have aided in the development of AI systems (see, for example, Lieto23). One cognitive concept, heuristics, are cognitive shortcuts that human beings use to make decisions or solve problems. Heuristics were central to the development of the Logic Theorist,27 one of the first AI programs designed to simulate human problem-solving processes. The work on this program demonstrated that cognitive processes could be understood and replicated through computational models that used heuristics. The success of heuristics in the Logic Theorist, in turn, influenced the development of subsequent AI systems, such as the General Problem Solver (GPS).
The concept of learning from data, central to machine learning, is rooted in psychological theories of learning. Techniques like reinforcement learning (RL) are inspired by behavioral psychology. Machine learning models have also been informed by research on how human beings deal with uncertain and noisy environments. This research has led to the development of more robust and generalizable machine learning models by creating probabilistic models and collecting an extensive amount of human categorization data. Likewise, advances and theories in neuroscience have been applied to AI to improve both the efficiency and accuracy of these systems (for a review, see Hassabis et al.18).
Research in cyberpsychology and the development of new AI technologies are mutually beneficial. While knowledge and theories from cognitive and affective science can inform the development of new AI technologies, psychological models can also be refined through the functioning of AI systems.8 These systems are used to diagnose and treat mental health conditions by analyzing speech patterns, facial expressions, and other behavioral indicators in ways grounded in psychological research. In addition, robots, which represent the physical embodiment of AI, have been used in clinical capacities, while virtual human agents can listen, give advice, provide links to resources, or tell a story related to a participant’s experience.
Similarly, the creation of immersive VR environments relies on research on human perception and cognition. Concepts such as social presence, communication, and group dynamics are fundamental to this work. Research on presence, the phenomenon whereby people act and respond to events and situations within VR as if they were real,32 has been applied to enhance the realism of VR experiences. Immersive exposure experiences through both VR and AI can be used to activate and modify emotional and behavioral responses (as in the case of phobias and trauma/post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) or to distract the user from the real world (as in the case of pain management). Psychological theories guide the development of these therapeutic interventions.
Virtual environments (VEs) and VR exposure therapy simulations have exploded in popularity, with demonstrated statistical significance and clinical effectiveness for addressing many social and psychological issues.9 The military uses VR to help service members with stress resilience, to navigate cross-cultural interactions, and to learn and develop negotiation and leadership skills (see Ancis3 for additional information).
Cyberpsychology has influenced modern computing in these areas by contributing to more natural and engaging human-AI and human-VR interactions. This has resulted in increasingly effective interventions in educational, clinical, and wellness arenas. AI and VR systems have been informed by studies of human behavior, resulting in more rapid applications across a variety of tasks and fields.
The Future of Work
Digitalization, work automation, and alternative work arrangements such as gig and freelance have transformed organizations and the larger world of work. An emerging area of scholarship concerns the ways in which technology has impacted workers’ roles and responsibilities, as well as their well-being.
Technologies such as automation and generative AI continue to develop from serving as a tool to becoming an active partner, transforming workers’ roles and responsibilities. This area of scholarship predicts that much transactional work will be replaced by a combination of robotic process automation, machine learning, and generative AI, resulting in increased productivity. Work requiring deep expertise or human collaboration will be augmented.
With technological advances, many workers, especially those not considered digital natives, will need to reskill. Cyberpsychology principles are foundational to understanding and facilitating this transition, as readiness for AI adoption relies on factors beyond basic resources such as financial budgets and IT infrastructure: Psychological agility is required to successfully navigate these changes. Cyberpsychology considers the degree to which employees are adaptable, open to change, demonstrate resilience, adjust to evolving circumstances, and actively seek opportunities to improve AI-related skills.36 Other psychological dimensions relevant to AI adoption involve technological self-efficacy (self-estimates of one’s ability to successfully employ technology) as well as attitudes toward interactions with AI. Organizational success depends on employers’ willingness to understand and foster these psychological dimensions of change.
Previous scholarship in the area of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) has explored how technology can support better collaborations between diverse and remotely located workers.15 The focus of this early research was on how good technology design can result in more connected collaborations, and as a result, better products. More recent research in CSCW, however, has turned this lens toward psychological dimensions such as workplace well-being. This framework focuses on how collaborative technologies can be leveraged to not only facilitate the creation of quality products but also foster a healthier work environment and improved worker well-being. Within this new world of work, constructs such as job satisfaction31 and burnout1 have taken on increased importance.
Cyberpsychology has led to increased awareness of how technologies, especially mobile technologies, have affected employee well-being. Mobile technology allows for 24-7 access, along with a steady stream of email notifications, instant messages, task reminders, message reminders, and other interruptions. Relatedly, expectations of workers have changed, with an assumption that employees will always be accessible and will respond quickly. As such, the boundaries between work and personal life have blurred, leading to work-life conflicts and spillover effects—a significant source of stress. Interruptions generally have a negative impact on the performance of decision makers because they induce conflict about the allocation of various resources, such as time.34 In turn, perceived interruption overload reduces technology usage, especially for those with lower levels of control over their IT use.35
Recent studies have explored how digital workspaces can be designed to enhance worker well-being, drawing insights from cyberpsychology. Cyberpsychological insights into how individuals use technology may be leveraged to develop innovative solutions that mitigate the negative effects of work-related interruptions on work-life conflict (WLC) and IT usage. Research shows that digital nudges encouraging clear, active breaks significantly boost worker well-being.30 Additionally, design strategies addressing the stress from remote and hybrid work technologies35 have been examined. The mass shift to remote work revealed challenges such as difficulty in focusing during video meetings20 and reduced creativity due to multitasking.4 To mitigate these issues, solutions such as automatic meeting summaries and transparency in communication tools have been proposed.4
Mobile application developers and design science researchers may benefit from cyberpsychology by creating innovative design solutions to lessen the negative impact of work-related interruptions and stress. Organizations may also consider implementing monitoring tools to detect harmful usage patterns and alert users.
It is clear that cyberpsychology has significantly influenced the design of technology that prioritizes workplace wellness and work-life integration, in addition to informing the development of effective and impactful work teams.
Misinformation and Disinformation
Misinformation, the unintentional dissemination of false or misleading information, and disinformation, the intentional spreading of misleading information with the intent to deceive,38 pose a significant challenge in the digital age, affecting public health, societal well-being, and the integrity of democratic processes.10 A prominent example is the spread of misinformation about COVID-19.24 Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and Snapchat have become critical vectors for these disinformation campaigns, which often gain traction through user engagement and interactions by likes, shares, and reposts within online echo chambers. These dynamics complicate efforts to preserve the accuracy of public discourse.
Cyberpsychology offers valuable insights into the psychological underpinnings that make individuals vulnerable to disinformation, informing the design of computational strategies to combat this issue. Research highlights how disinformation exploits emotional triggers, increasing its acceptance. Content that evokes strong emotions, such as fear or anger, is more likely to be perceived as true, especially during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, when heightened emotional states made people more susceptible to misinformation.26
Social media platforms amplify these emotional triggers, where emotions such as outrage, fear, and disgust spread rapidly across networks, shaping public perception on a large scale. Disinformation campaigns also exploit the appeal to authority,29 falsely attributing information to credible figures, thereby enhancing its perceived legitimacy. For instance, misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic often cited supposed “insiders” and “experts” to give false claims an air of credibility. The role of emotional states in increasing susceptibility to misinformation further underscores the need for computing systems to incorporate psychological considerations into the algorithms designed to detect and counteract the spread of disinformation.
Moreover, disinformation campaigns leverage the human need for social belonging. This is explained by the affinity protective thesis, which posits that individuals are inclined to adopt their social group’s views, even if those views are rooted in misinformation, to maintain social bonds. This drive to conform can lead people to propagate disinformation, particularly when it aligns with their group’s identity or ideology.37
Repetition also plays a critical role in the persistence of disinformation.14 Repeated exposure to information increases its perceived truthfulness, a tactic frequently employed by disinformation campaigns through continuous dissemination. Online echo chambers further reinforce this effect, as users are repeatedly exposed to similar content within their networks, solidifying their belief in falsehoods.
To counter disinformation effectively, computational systems must integrate strategies grounded in cyberpsychological research. Understanding the online dynamics of disinformation spread and designing targeted interventions are crucial for enhancing these systems. Educating users about these manipulative strategies is also essential for raising awareness and promoting analytical thinking, linked to improved discernment between truth and falsehood.6
Approaches such as debunking, prebunking, and nudging may significantly mitigate the impact of online disinformation.22 Debunking involves not only presenting accurate information but also explaining why the misinformation is incorrect, offering a clear alternative. Related computational tools include automated fact-checking systems. Prebunking, or inoculation theory, involves exposing individuals to weakened forms of misinformation before refuting them, thereby building resilience against future disinformation. This strategy can be embedded in educational tools or interactive platforms designed to equip users with resistance to common disinformation tactics. Nudging, which subtly alters how information is presented to promote critical thinking, can also be a powerful tool. For example, social media platforms could prompt users to consider the credibility of a source or highlight potential biases before sharing content, encouraging a more reflective approach to consuming and disseminating information.
Finally, cognitive research on knowledge neglect25 reveals that people often struggle to apply their existing knowledge when confronted with new information—even when it is false. This challenge is exacerbated when misinformation originates from trusted in-group sources, making it particularly potent within familiar social networks.
Cyberpsychological insights have informed automation tools for the identification and detection of misinformation online, as well as interventions to mitigate its spread. Continuing to integrate cyberpsychological research into the design of computing systems is essential for developing effective strategies to combat this pervasive threat. By understanding and addressing the psychological mechanisms that underpin the spread of disinformation, computing can play a pivotal role in safeguarding public discourse and fostering a more informed and resilient digital society.
Conclusion
Cyberpsychology has emerged as a vital interdisciplinary field that bridges psychology and computing, offering critical insights into how human behavior intersects with technology. As technology continues to evolve, integrating cyberpsychological principles will be crucial for ensuring that technological advances are not only effective but also aligned with human values. The field’s role in shaping user experience, promoting security and privacy, supporting workers, helping to curb disinformation, and promoting ethical technology use underscores its importance in addressing the complex challenges of the digital age. Moving forward, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and developing innovative research methodologies will be essential for harnessing the full potential of cyberpsychology to enhance human well-being and create meaningful sociotechnical systems.
Future areas of scholarship include exploring ways in which comprehensive psychological theories can be fully integrated into the design of emerging technologies. Moreover, new models are needed to address the unique challenges posed by modern computing technologies and the evolving human-technology relationship. In addition, ethical frameworks are essential to guide the development and deployment of technologies in ways that promote societal well-being.
Research questions include: How can we design cyberpsychology-informed interventions to effectively combat the spread of disinformation on digital platforms, and how can we enhance the readiness and adaptability of workers to new technologies? Moreover, with new generative AI language models such as ChatGPT, how may we leverage the psychological strengths of humans and the processing and storage capabilities of computational systems?
These are challenging areas to tackle, requiring interdisciplinary teams characterized by skill, critical thinking, open-mindedness, and mutual respect.
To address the complex challenges of the 21st century, a genuine integration of cyberpsychology and computing is essential, demanding a paradigm shift. This new perspective must recognize the profound, reciprocal influence between these fields and their critical interconnection in the context of human experience in the modern world. Achieving this will necessitate the development of innovative methods and approaches that fully embrace their intertwined nature. This, in turn, will lead to the design of technologies that are human-centered and ethical, fostering digital spaces that will potentially lay the groundwork for promoting well-being, fundamental to the realization of positive computing.
Attaining this paradigm shift requires a recognition of the symbiotic relationship between human psychology and technological advancement. Also needed is formal integration of cyberpsychology into research and academic settings, and continued advocacy for it as a key discipline that bridges psychology and technology. Cyberpsychology as an approved major within university systems would help to facilitate such a recognition, with courses taught by scholars engaged in work at the crossroads of multiple relevant disciplines. This would help to reduce the academic silos that prevent transdisciplinary scholarship and translational research and contribute to developments aimed at solving global grand challenges.
The result of a paradigm shift toward an integration of cyberpsychology and computing would be a generation of technological innovation designed with a deeper understanding of human needs and values. This shift could lead to improved mental health support systems, more resilient cybersecurity solutions, more ethical AI development, and digital environments that promote personal well-being. Society would see not only greater technological advances but also tools that foster human flourishing, mitigate harm, and empower users with enhanced control over their digital lives.
As we navigate the digital age, cyberpsychology’s importance becomes increasingly evident. The future of cyberpsychology lies in its ability to help shape a digital ecosystem that prioritizes human well-being and advances technological potential with attention to AI trust and safety, fostering a resilient and responsible digital society.
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