DisinhibitionEffectAndSelfDisclosureInOnlineInteractions:

ByAaronMurdock

IntroductionoftheIdea
TheDisinhibitionEffectisthepartialorfullabandonmentofsocialinhibitionsinone
environmentthatwouldnormallymanifestinanotherenvironment(Suler,2004).Thisincludes
thechangesusersmakeinselfrepresentationwhileonline,whetheronsocialnetworks,blogs,
onlinegamingcommunities,oronlinecorrespondence.Inmakingsuchchanges,usersengagein
costbenefitanalysis.Thefollowingreportexaminesthedisinhibitedeffectsofconstruingones
selfrepresentationandbeingselectiveinonesselfdisclosureinonlineenvironments.

OriginalTheory
TheDisinhibitionEffect
isexpoundeduponbyJohnR.Suler.Hewroteanarticlein2004
calledTheOnlineDisinhibitionEffectwhereinheintroducestheconceptthatselfdisclosure
ofpersonalinformationincreaseswhileinhibitiondecreases(Suler,2004).Sulerdiscussestwo
majorconceptswithinhispaper:
benigndisinhibition
and
toxicdisinhibition
.Healsobringsup
sixdifferentfactorsthathesayscausedisinhibitiononline,whetheritistoxicorbenign.These
includedissociativeanonymity,invisibility,asynchronicity,solipsisticintrojection,dissociative
imagination,andminimizationofstatusandauthority.
BenignandToxicDisinhibition
Benigndisinhibitionisasitsounds:theactofselfdisclosurethatgenerallydoesnoharm,
andmayevenbebeneficialtoselforothers.Anexamplemaybesharingonesfeelingwhile

grieving,orpostingaboutacharityevent.Toxicdisinhibitionwouldbethebadside,where
internetuserssharehatefulorinjuriouscontent,orseekoutharmfulcontentlikepornography.
TheSixFactorsofDisinhibition
Thesixfactorsthatcausethedisinhibitionmayoverlap,withmostpeoplehavingtwo
majorfactors.
Dissociativeanonymity
istheideathatpeoplecanhidebehindanonymityonline,
separatingtheirreallifefromtheironlinelife.Sometimestheyevenbegintobelieveit
themselves,thatwhotheyareonlineisnotwhotheyreallyare.Anexamplewouldbeifaperson
joinsachatroomorforumandstirsupcontention,relyingonthefactthatnobodyreallyknow
whotheyaretokeepthemsafe.
Invisibility
isthefactthatpeoplearenotseenonline,andcansit
inachatroomorsimilarforumandremaininvisible,watchingbutnotparticipating.Thisideais
slightlydifferentthananonymityinthefactthatsomeonecouldbeablogauthor,butremain
invisibletoreaders.Therefore,thereaderscouldknowplentyabouttheblogauthor,butmay
neverhaveseenhim/her.
Asynchronicity
isthefactthatinmanyplacesonlinepeoplearenot
respondinginrealtime,butinsteadmaytakehoursordaystorespond.Whetheraresponseis
immediateordelayedcangreatlyaffecttheresponsesgivenbetweenparties,allowingmoretime
todeliberateanddetermineaproperresponse.AgreatexampleisonFacebookposts,where
peoplecanchoosetowaittoreplytoacommentorpostinwhichtheyaretagged.
Solipsistic
introjection
isaninterestingeffectonausersmind.Asonereadstheposts,emails,oronline
contentofanotherperson,thatotherpersonisassignedavoiceinoneshead.Thisvoicecan
becomeacharacterinonespsyche,eveninfluencingonespersonalitytosomesmalldegree.
Suchanoccurrenceisseeninthemindsofauthorsandstorytellers.Online,itcouldbeasone
readstheblogpostsofafavoriteblogger,whosevoiceandpersonalitybecomeacharacterin

onesownintrapsychicworld.Justaswithacharacterfromanovel,onemaybegintofillinthe
gapsinthischaracterspersonality.With
dissociativeimagination
,weseeacombinationof
dissociationandintrojection,forminganewfactorthathappensofteninonlineroleplaying
games.Thisfactorsaysthatpeoplewillcreateafantasydimensionwhereintheyandthosewith
whomtheyinteractdwellwhileonline.However,onecanleavethatdimensionandthosepeople
behindbyenteringintotherealworld.Thisisdoneinotheronlineforums,suchasFacebookor
actualforums.Finally,
minimizationofstatusandauthority
istheideathatpeopleareallpeers
online,sothatonesrealauthoritymaynotbeknownormaybeminimizedonline.Thiscanbe
goodincaseswhereonewithauthority,suchasthePresidentoftheUnitedStates,wantstoget
realandhonestfeedbackfromconstituentsorreaders.

ExamplesofDisinhibitionOnlineinInterpersonalCommunication
Theoreticalexamplesaregivenabove,butnowwelookatsomereallifeexamplesofthis
effect.TherearethreemajorstudiesIhavepulledfromtogatherinformation.Thefirstisthe
Effectsofanonymity,invisibility,andlackofeyecontactontoxiconlinedisinhibitionbyNoam
LapidotLeflerandAzyBarak(2011).
ToxicDisinhibition:anonymity,invisibility,lackofeyecontact
Intheirarticle,NoamandBarak(2011)beginbyexplainingtheeffectandpointingout
thatSulerwastheonewhocoinedtheterm
toxicinhibition
.Intextenvironments,suchasinstant
messaging,usersoftenchooselarge,capitallettering,exclamationpoints,insultingemoticonsor
emojis,orredtypefacetoharassandshowangeratanother,aswellasfouloroffensivelanguage
andderogatorynames(NoamandBarak,2011).

Anonymity
Anonymityisexplainedabove.However,asNoamandBarak(2011)explainit,itisnot
onlynamelessness,butunidentifiability.Thisistheideathatonecoulduseonesrealnameinan
onlineenvironment,butstillremainanonymousbecauseotherkeyknowledgeismissing,suchas
location,age,orethnicity.TheyrefertoanotherstudydonebySpears,Postmes,Lea,and
Wolbert(2002)thatfoundthatanonymityinInternetcommunicationinducedmore
incidentsofflamingthandidfacetofacesettings.
Invisibility
Invisibilityistheideathatnobodyknowsthatyoucouldbeinthesamechatroomor
gameworldandreadingthemessagestoothers.
Ihavespentmanyhoursonline,insocialmediasettings,onforums,andinvirtualgame
worlds.Caseinpoint,mycurrentmaincharacteronmyfavoriteonlinegamehas28daysand1
hourlogged.AsIvespenttimeonline,Iveseenandbeenapartofmyfairshareof
disinhibition,particularlythetoxickind.Oneinstancecomestomindthathappenedwhile
chattinginaplayerguild.Ihadhadtoputmycatdownduetohealthcomplicationsthatwould
haveleadtohisslowandpainfuldeath.Iwasdistraughtandtryingtocope,soIloggedintothe
gameandstartedplaying,chattingwithsomeguildmates.Imentionedthesituationwithmycat,
andhowsadIwas.OnememberoftheguildimmediatelyspokeupandtoldmeIwasahorrible
personforputtingmycatdown.ThereIwas,inmygrieving,andshedecidestopromoteher
ideologicalcauseandbelittlemygrief.Iwasmoresurprisedthanangry,andfellowguildmates
immediatelyjumpedtomydefenseandtoldhertoleaveheropiniontoherself.Whenshedidnt
stop,Ijustputheronmyignorelistandcontinuedwiththegame.Againstthebackgroundof

toxicdisinhibition,Icanseethatsheusedtheopportunityofanonymityandinvisibilityto
disregardanothersfeelingsandpromoteapersonalagendathatsheknewwouldbeinsultingto
mygrief.
Lackofeyecontact
Theeyeinthewindowtothesoul,right?AccordingtoKoryFloyd(2011)alackof
eyecontactisnotnecessarilytellingofwhetherapersonislying.Rather,thedilationofpupils
andincreaseinblinkingaresignsofsuch.NoamandBarak(2011)statethatevenwhenonline
interpersonalcommunicationincludesvisibility,eyecontactmaystillbeabsent.Suchwouldbe
thecasewithwebcams.
Whileonline,thereisnoeyecontactinmostcases.Therearenophysicalsignsofdeceit
totrytorecognize.Therefore,figuringoutwhetherapersonishonestornotisdifficult.Many
peopleknowthis,andtakeadvantageofitbymanipulatingorcoercinganotherintothingsthey
normallywouldnot.Forexample,whenIwasnewtoonlinegames,Iwasonceinagameand
tryingtotradeanitemwithanotherperson.Iproposedmyofferandacceptedmyend.Without
offeringtheagreeduponiteminreturn,theyinsteadacceptedthedealandclosedthewindow,
essentiallystealingmyitem.Theythenrefusedtotradewithme.HadIbeeninfrontofthemin
reallife,perhapsIcouldhavenoticedsubtlesignsthattheyweregoingtocheatme.Asitwas,I
hadnoidea.
TheStudybyNaomandBarak
Method
NaomandBarakwantedtotakethethreefactorsaboveandplacethemintothecontext
ofamoregeneralidea,the
onlinesenseofunidentifiability
.Theirmethodtook71menand71

women,allyoungcollegestudents.Theyexcludedanywhocouldnotuseacomputerwell,or
whonevermadeeyecontactinaninterview.Theytesteddyadsofstudents,witha2x2x2
factorialexperimentthatplacedonedyadwithasetoftwofactors(i.e.eyecontactwith
invisibility).Aliaseswereassignedforanonymity,webcamsforeyecontact,andlackof
webcamsforinvisibility.Forthedyadcombinationofvisibilityandeyecontact,partnerscould
vieweachothersupperbodiesthroughonecamerawhilemaintainingeyecontactthroughthe
othercamera.
Thedyadsweresplitevenlytocreateanequalnumberofmalemale,femalefemale,and
malefemalesets.Thetopictheyweregivenwasaboutalifesavingdrugthatcouldonlybe
giventooneperson,andwasneededbybothparticipantstosavealovedone.Thepurposewas
toinciteflaminginthedyad.
Results
Aswecanseeinthechartbelow,eyecontactandanonymitywitheyecontacthad
significanteffectsonthewaythedyadsinteracted.Thosewhodidnothaveeyecontactended
withahigherflamingscorethanthosewhohadeyecontact.

Conclusion
Asscientificasthisstudywas,itwasunabletoaccountforotherfactorsthatmayhave
playedapart,suchaspersonalitytraitsorgenuinenessofthesituation.Theyconclude,however,
that[l]ackofeyecontactplaysamajorroleintriggeringbehaviorsrelatedtonegativeonline
disinhibition.Theysuggestanewtermforresearcherstousethatcouldaidinstudyingfurther
thedisinhibitioneffect,callingit
onlinesenseofunidentifiability
.
TheStudybyCasale,Fiovaranti,andCaplan
Inastudyontheprecursorsandoutcomesofonlinedisinhibition,Casale,Fiovaranti,and
CaplaninvestigatedwhetherwhattheycalledPOSI,or
preferenceforonlinesocialinteractions,
wasamediatorbetweenonlinedisinhibitionandnegativeoutcomesofusingtheweb(Casaleet
al.,2015).POSIresultsinthecompulsiveuseoftheWebandthenegativeoutcomesassociated
withonesownuseoftheWeb.
Theypointoutthatotherstudieshavebeendoneondisinhibition,includingonedoneby
Schouten,Valkenburg,andPeter(2007)thatrevealedthatonlinedisinhibitionisseenmoreoften
inwomenandthosewithsocialanxietyissues.
Hypotheses
Therewereatotalofsixhypotheses,brokenintonineparts.Thefirsthypothesistested
whetherreducedverbalcuesinonlineconversationsandonescontrollabilityoftheconversation
havedirectpositiveeffectsondisinhibitiononline.
ThesecondhypothesisaskedwhetherdisinhibitionisapositivepredictorofPOSI.
Thethirdlookedatthedirectpositivityofreducednonverbalcuesandcontrollabilityon
POSIlevels.

ThefourthexaminedwhetherPOSIlevelsdirectlyandpositivelypredictednegative
outcomeswhileusingtheinternet.
ThefifthlookedattheindirectrelationshipsbetweenreducednonverbalcuesandPOSI,
andcontrollabilityandPOSI,asmediatedbyonlinedisinhibition.
ThesixthwasonwhetherPOSImediateddisinhibitionhasnegativeoutcomes.
Results
Thetablebelowshowsstudyvariables.Theresearchersfoundthathypotheses14,which
werealldirectinrelationship,weresignificant,withtheexceptionofH3a:reducednonverbal
cuesdoesnotnecessarilyhaveapositiveeffectonPOSI.Theremainingthreehypotheseswere
alsoproventrue,indicatingthatthereareindirectrelationshipsbetweenreducednonverbalcues
andPOSI,andinthesamerelationshipbetweencontrollabilityandPOSIasmediatedby
disinhibition(Casaleetal,.2015).

PersonalaccountofPOSI
Interestingly,IhavenoticedthatIhaveapreferenceforonlinesocialinteractions,and
thattheseinteractionsarenotassatisfyingasfacetofaceones.Forexample,Iwaslaidupinthe
hospitallastyearafterakidneytransplant.Ihadaccesstoalaptop,andsoIspenttimeonlineon
socialmedia.However,Iwasstillstircrazy,whichwouldonlyabatewhenpeoplewould
physicallycomeandseeme.Thatsaid,anotherexampleoftheactualpreferenceisthatfactthatI

wouldrathertextormessageagirltoaskherout.ButoutofthefactthatIknowitismore
sincereandpolitetoaskinperson,Ihaveneverdoneso.MyPOSIhasgotteninthewayof
interactinginreallife,andhasevencauseddistressinrelationshipswhereIwasabletohide
behindwallsoftextandavoidapersonwithwhomInolongerwantedtoassociate.

Conclusion
Instudyingthesejournalsandarticles,Ivecometoseethatonlinedisinhibitionaffects
nearlyeveryaspectofcomputermediatedcommunication.Itplaysaroleinhowwepresent
ourselves,howwedealwithsituationsonline,andhowwetakeininformationonline.Iveseen
itinfluencingmylifeismanyway,mostlynegative,asIveengagedinheatedonline
discussions,avoidedpeopletobreakfriendships,andputtoomuchofmyselfonpublicprofiles
fortheworldtosee.Intheend,moreinhibitioninwhatweshareonlinecoulddogreatgoodfor
ourpsyches,butitwouldbemuchbettertogetofflineandinteractfacetoface.


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