The Mind’s Eye in Cyberspace:
Online Perceptions of Self and Others
Richard C. Sherman
Department of Psychology, Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056 USA
Abstract
The Internet has greatly expanded the ways in which we communicate and interact with others. This chapter explores how our perceptions of others and of ourselves are effected by these new ways of communicating. The first section examines the nature of computer-mediated communication (CMC) as viewed by several prominent theoretical models, exploring how these models assess possible sources of accurate and inaccurate perceptions online and the impact of perceptions in cyberspace on everyday face-to-face social relationships. Next, the chapter explores the role of relevant cognitive processes in the development of online perceptions, including the activation of stereotypes, self-confirmation of attributions, and the instantiation of social identity. The final section examines the problem of accurately knowing how others perceive oneself in cyberspace versus in face-to-face interactions. Current literature supports the general idea that perceptions are indeed influenced by the medium, but not always in straightforward ways. First, despite the apparently impoverished text-based nature of most forms of CMC, people do form impressions of each other and they do develop strong interpersonal relationships online. Second, CMC may foster perceptions that are more extreme than in face-to-face situations, but the positive or negative direction of the effect may depend on factors external to the medium itself. Finally, meta-perceptions are distorted by at least some forms of the medium such that people may be less accurate in judging how others view them than they are in face-to-face interactions.