Cyberpsychology,Behavior,and Social Networking

This study examined the mediating role of social anxiety in the relation between cyberbullying victimization and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), as well as the moderating role of emotion reactivity in those associations. Participants included 2,864 adolescents (M_age = 12.46, SD = 1.36, 47.1 percent girls). Results of path analysis showed that cyberbullying victimization was significantly related to NSSI, and social anxiety plays a mediating role in the relation between them. Emotion reactivity strengthened the effect of cyberbullying victimization on NSSI and of social anxiety on NSSI. The results further showed that the mediating effect of social anxiety was more prominent for youths who have higher levels of emotion reactivity. Interventions to reduce adolescent social anxiety and emotion reactivity may interrupt the pathway from cyberbullying victimization to NSSI.

Emerging research on stigma suggests that society's mistreatment of nonbinary individuals can, in part, be attributed to public uncertainty and a lack of knowledge about nonbinary identities. In response to this, this study drew upon the theoretical framework of uncertainty management to explore research questions related to nonbinary identity and information behaviors by investigating uncertainty management as evidenced by longitudinal Google Trends data related to nonbinary gender identities. If individuals were found to be engaging in information seeking, the result of this behavior may be that they become less likely to hold stigmatizing attitudes toward nonbinary people, and ultimately be less likely to engage in discrimination toward them. Results indicated that indeed there has been an increase in search volume interest related to nonbinary identities in the past decade. The study concludes by presenting the need for further research to clarify the nature of the relationship between stigma and information seeking, as well as presenting a quandary for researchers regarding the desire for more detailed demographic data, as balanced with concerns for privacy.

Brain–computer interface (BCI) is a promising technique that enables patients' interaction with computers or machines by analyzing specific brain signal patterns and provides patients with brain state-dependent feedback to assist in their rehabilitation. Action observation (AO) and peripheral electrical stimulation (PES) are conventional methods used to enhance rehabilitation outcomes by promoting neural plasticity. In this study, we assessed the effects of attentional state-dependent feedback in the combined application of BCI-AO with PES on sensorimotor cortical activation in patients after stroke. Our approach involved showing the participants a video with repetitive grasping actions under four different tasks. A mu band suppression (8–13 Hz) corresponding to each task was computed. A topographical representation showed that mu suppression of the dominant (healthy) and affected hemispheres (stroke) gradually became prominent during the tasks. There were significant differences in mu suppression in the affected motor and frontal cortices of the stroke patients. The involvement of both frontal and motor cortices became prominent in the BCI-AO+triggered PES task, in which feedback was given to the patients according to their attentive watching. Our findings suggest that synchronous stimulation according to patient attention is important for neurorehabilitation of stroke patients, which can be achieved with the combination of BCI-AO feedback with PES. BCI-AO feedback combined with PES could be effective in facilitating sensorimotor cortical activation in the affected hemispheres of stroke patients.

Violent video game exposure (VVGE) is a significant predictor of adolescent cyberbullying perpetration. However, little is known about the mediating and moderated mechanisms between them. This study examined the mediating role of moral disengagement between VVGE and cyberbullying perpetration as well as the moderating role of callous-unemotional (CU) traits on those associations. A total of 2,523 Chinese adolescents (M_age = 13.22, SD = 1.60, 48.4 percent girls) participated this study. Structural equation modeling showed that VVGE was significantly related to cyberbullying perpetration and moral disengagement play a mediating role between them. Latent moderated structural equation modeling showed that CU traits strengthened the effect of VVGE on moral disengagement and of VVGE on cyberbullying perpetration. Results further showed that the mediating effect of moral disengagement was more prominent for youths who have higher levels of CU traits. Interventions to reduce moral disengagement and CU traits among adolescents may interrupt the effect of VVGE to cyberbullying perpetration.

The BraveMind virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has been developed and has shown efficacy for U.S. service members and veterans. As the first study to date, the present study examined the feasibility of BraveMind VRET for non-U.S. military veterans. Moreover, the study sought to explore in-depth the participants' experiences with BraveMind VRET. Nine Danish veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after deployment to Afghanistan participated in the study. PTSD, depression, and quality of life were assessed at pretreatment, post-treatment, and 3-month followup. The treatment consisted of 10 BraveMind VRET sessions. Semistructured interviews with treatment completers were conducted post-treatment to ascertain views about the treatment, in general, and the BraveMind VR system in particular. Thematic qualitative analysis was conducted at the semantic level using an inductive approach. There were significant reductions in pre- to post-treatment self-reported PTSD and significant improvements in quality of life. Treatment gains were maintained at 3-month followup. Pre- to post-treatment Cohen's d effect sizes were large for self-reported PTSD (PTSD Checklist–Civilian Version [PCL-C]: d = 1.55). Qualitative results indicated that the virtual environment of the BraveMind VR system does not entirely map the reality of Danish soldiers in Afghanistan. However, this was not experienced as a hindering factor in therapy. Findings indicate that BraveMind VRET is an acceptable, safe, and effective treatment for Danish veterans with PTSD. The qualitative results emphasize the importance of a strong therapeutic alliance, as VRET is experienced as more emotional straining than regular trauma-focused therapy.

Despite the rapidly increasing number of female gamers worldwide, female players are still experiencing discrimination, stereotyping, and objectification in digital games. The present study examined the relationships among gender stereotypes, sexism, and sexual harassment in online games, and further investigated how enhanced social presence contributes to intensifying the effects of gender stereotypes and sexism on sexual harassment. An online survey was conducted among 521 young male Korean gamers who regularly play two genres of online games: role-playing games and first-person shooter games. The results of moderated-mediation analyses using Hayes PROCESS macro models confirmed that gender stereotypes had significant effects on hostile and benevolent in-game sexism. A significant interaction was also observed between in-game sexism and social presence in predicting sexual harassment in online games. The findings from this study confirm the role of social presence as an amplifier that reinforces gender stereotypes and discrimination in competitive and violent online game environments.

Deception in online advertising is not uncommon. An example of deceptive advertising, sometimes used by online retailers to drive traffic to their Web sites, is omission in discount advertising. It is a tactic in which an important condition for a discount on a product or service is (purposefully) excluded when advertised online—only to reveal the initially excluded condition to consumers once they have reached the retailer's Web site. The purpose of this study was to examine how such omission in discount advertising influences purchase intention, and to what extent this effect is mediated by perceived retailer ethics and attitude toward the online retailer. To test our hypotheses, we conducted an experiment (N = 117) with a single-factor (omission in discount advertising: omission vs. control) between-subjects design. Perceived retailer ethics and attitude toward the online retailer were included as serial mediators. The results showed that omission in discount advertising negatively affected purchase intention. Furthermore, this effect was mediated by perceived retailer ethics and attitude toward the retailer, whereby participants who were exposed to the omission advertisement judged the retailer's ethics more negatively and consequently had a more negative attitude toward the retailer. This, indirectly, decreased purchase intention. This study provides evidence for a novel and parsimonious framework explaining the effect of omission in discount advertising on purchase intention, through perceived retailer ethics and attitude toward the online retailer, which is relevant for both theory and practice.

Although the concept of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is permeated with individual fears about the lack of social connection, the relationship between FoMO and feelings of loneliness has been the subject of limited research. The aim of this study was to examine bidirectional associations between FoMO and loneliness via a three-wave, random intercept, cross-lagged panel model. Drawing on a survey with 494 adult participants across three waves (45.3 percent participated in Time 2 and 38.7 percent participated at Time 3) during the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that participants with higher FoMO also reported heightened levels of loneliness across the three waves, at a between-person level. Furthermore, loneliness had significant negative cross-lagged associations with subsequent FoMO, at within-person level. The cross-lagged paths between FoMO and subsequent loneliness were not significant. Participants who usually spend more daily time using social media reported higher levels of FoMO. The findings of the study contribute to clarifying the temporal relationship between FoMO and loneliness, by suggesting that FoMO may not represent a risk factor for heightened feelings of loneliness, but it can be triggered by feelings of social isolation and lack of relationships.