(Excuse me if I've got who said what tangled up. This is how I think
it went)
Jim Clark wrote:
> The same thing is true for "road rage" of
> course. Is there solid evidence that such acts of rage occur
> with higher-than-expected frequency and to people who are
> otherwise non-aggressive?
>
Rick replied:
> > Actually, some evidence _does_ exist that individuals
> > who demonstrate "road rage" do not manifest the same behaviors
> > in other areas of their lives. I _think_ the basic research was
> > being done at either USC or UCLA, but since I don't have the
> > material here at home, I can't say for sure if that's accurate.
This raises an interesting, more general question. To what extent are
our on-line personalities as revealed on this list congruent with our
real-life personalities?
In the absence of evidence, I'd speculate that there could be
significant differences. I'm not suggesting that people deliberately
take on another persona (although the first law of cyberspace is
apparently "Never assume that the writer is not a 10-year-old boy",
according to a recent essay in the Chronicle of Higher Ed). Instead,
it may be that the special features of interacting in writing, with
time to reflect on what you say, may produce on-line personal
characteristics not evident in face-to-face interaction.
One could use a Turing-type test to study the phenomenon. Put all of
those who post frequently on this list in the same room, forbid them
to tell each other their names, and see how many people are correctly
identified. In my case, for example, I'd bet that few would identify
me (he said enigmatically).
-Stephen
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at:
http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/
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