Cyberpsychology: Virtual Reality and Video Games

Cyberpsychology: Virtual Reality and Video Games

Although research was well underway back in the 1960s, the world Wide Web emerged in the 1990s. Despite persisting arguments in the literature, Namsu (2010), a PhD in Radio-TV-Film, seems to attest that Internet use correlates positively with offline social interaction. So despite worries that online socializing might replace face-to-face interaction, according to this rationale it may even be contributing to increase one’s social circles through networking on the Web, beneficial to maintaining old relationships and building new ones. The author describes the technology as new medium of communication.

Cybernetics, artificial intelligence, telematics was used in Europe to refer to the study of information technologies (IT) or the enhanced NCIT (New Information and Communication Technologies (NICT), literally a short form for tele-informatics; (cyborgs, robots, androids and other sentient machines featured in movies and television series Star Trek, Star Wars, Terminator, Robocop and Artificial Intelligence.

Loup noir. Credit image: Elena

Neuromancer, which some consider the epitome of cyberpunk is a novel the plot of which takes place in cyberspace. Some authors (Prieto & Sanz, unspecified) even call the Internet the seventh continent (the number of continents varies according to definitions, Eurasia being at times divided into Europe and Asia, and North and South America being combined into one). The association between psychology and technology is visible in computational psychology, as well as other instances such as the use of animation in therapy, as elucidated by Mason (2009).

With the advent of computers not only efficiency during working hours has increased, but likewise leisure time was diversified. Individuals now could spend hours at a time playing a video game that virtually transported them into an online, multiuser, shared, and in a way implicitly agreed on, reality, such as the one in World of Warcraft. The phenomenon is so widespread, that it was even used to gently poke fun at Penny, the bubbly blonde living near two brilliant but socially awkward physicists, all of whom are protagonists of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Raven. Credit image: Elena

Of course, long before Internet, or even single user, computer games were a popular, quasi-omnipresent cultural characteristic, individuals already engaged in playful activities for enjoyment. Therefore, an example going back to Antiquity is the game of chess. Rumor has it that, initially, the game represented a quarrel aimed at dividing the sky among supernatural beings. Today, while the origins are largely overshadowed by tournaments, world champions, rules and strategy (and three dimensional chess as featured on many televised ventures), it continues to be a hobby for many, while also now being available in highly computerized versions. Amazingly, international chess geniuses have even been able to win against the best chess-playing machines, although depending on the levels and settings, it may me difficult, or virtually impossible, for an average player.

Regardless, what seems clear is that most games require some degree of imagination. Conversely, fantasy is so engrained in games, that perhaps it is even natural to assert that all games are permeated with the fantasy component and thus, fantasy (as in fantasy art and literature) games fall outside discernible boundaries.

Ethnopsychiatrie. A photorealistic humanoid character. Avatars, virtual hosts and interactive robotic partners are just some of the possibilities gained with advances in computer science and electronics. Credit image: Copyright Elena

The above (preceding paragraph) information is looked at in great detail by Prieto & Sanz, scholars who label the Internet the seventh continent (the number of continents varies according to definitions, at times Eurasia being divided into Europe and Asia, and North and South America being combined into one). The virtual reality has produced its own culture, with specific works like Neuromancer, which some consider the epitome of the cyberpunk literary genre, a novel the plot of which takes place in cyberspace. Finally, the association between psychology and technology is visible in computational psychology, as well as other instances, such as the use of animation in therapy, as elucidated by Mason (2009).

References:

• Mason, R. (2009). Dare to dream: The use of animation in occupational therapy.
• Mental Health Occupational Therapy, 14 (3): 111-5.Namsu, P. (2010). Integration of Internet use with public spaces: College students’ use of the wireless Internet and offline socializing. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 4(2), article 4.
• Prieto, J. M. & Sanz, P. (Unknown). Cyberpsychology. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Department of Individual Differences and Work Psychology

Copyright © 2011 Megan Jorgensen. All rights reserved.