Concurrence between online and offline personality?

February 2, 2007 1:46 PM

Anyone know of any well-written studies detailing how different psychological makeups of internet users affect the development of internet communities?

Lurking in MeTa recently I've noticed a number of posts regarding deletion of questions and the role of moderation in general. It got me to thinking about whether any studies have been done as to if certain types of personalities in the real world are drawn towards certain types of communities in the virtual world. Secondly, whether or not the personalities they display online mirror those they have in the real world.

For example, taking the "moderation" issue as an example -- do people who lack control over others in their own lives seek to extend control over others in their virtual life? Do those who have control over other people in their lives also seek to control of others in the virtual world, or do their personalities "change" when online and allow them to explore a more passive role? Do people who exist in open environments in the real world seek strongly moderated or unmoderated communities online?

More basically, it could be something as simple as "do passive people act aggressive online?", "do aggressive people act passive online?" etc.

So, it's a two-parter, I suppose. I am looking for studies that discuss 1) whether people's personality characteristics shift when they go online from what they are in the real world, and 2) whether these personality characteristics significantly affect the development of the communities/forums they participate in.

posted by modernnomad to human relations (2 comments total)

Not what you want, but the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory explains online behaviour pretty accurately.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 11:38 PM on February 2, 2007

I can't think of any studies which directly answer your first question, however there have been a fair number of studies on how the lack of face-to-face cues can influence behaviour (rather than 'personality') in online communities. You may be interested in Adam Joinson's work Causes and implications of disinhibited behavior on the Internet which you should be able to find via Google Scholar. Other academics who have touched on this subject include Sara Keisler (although much of her early work has now fallen out of favour), Joseph Walther, John Suler, and a few other I can't recall at the moment.

As for your second question, from a more general perspective of the role of social regulation in online community development, Matthew Williams has done some interesting work in this area, as has Amy Bruckman. If you would like a more specific list, let me know.

Also Patricia Wallace's book Psychology of the Internet provides a much more general synthesis that might be a good starting pointing if you are interested.
posted by harmless at 11:38 PM on February 2, 2007