EVENTS

'The psychology of the dark side of cyberspace' - 21/02/2012 17:30

An inaugural lecture hosted by Professor Monica Whitty

On Tuesday 21 February, Professor Monica Whitty of the Department of Media and Communication will give her inaugural lecture entitled 'The psychology of the dark side of cyberspace'. This lecture is free and open to the public.

It will be held at 5.30pm in Lecture Theatre 1 in the Ken Edwards Building.

Professor Whitty said, "Cyberspace can be both liberating and debilitating. This talk will focus on the dark side of cyberspace. I’ll provide examples from my research that has focused on the following topics: internet infidelity, online deception, morals in video games and the online dating romance scam. My work on internet infidelity has found the relationship transgressions in cyberspace are typically found to be as hurtful as offline transgressions, even when individuals do not intend to move this to the offline realm. Perhaps more surprisingly, my research has found that individuals are not more likely to lie on the Internet. Where we are more likely to lie in fact varies depending on whether this is a planned lie or a spontaneous lie. My work on video games has gone beyond early researchers questioning of whether games cause individuals to be more violent. Instead I have examined whether individuals can psychologically cope with being rapped, tortured, cannibalism and so forth in an online game. Finally, my latest work has looked at a fairly new scam known as the online dating romance scam. I will present my latest findings that have examined: the typology of the victim, the persuasive methods criminals use as well as the psychological impact on the victim."

A reception will follow at 6.30pm in the Park Side Lounge on the fifth floor of the Charles Wilson Building. For more information or to confirm your attendance, please contact inaugural@le.ac.uk.