Does Credibility Count?

Two studies investigated Singaporean junior college students’ determinations of the credibility of social studies Web sites. In the first study, participants selected Web sites that they determined to provide objective and accurate representations of their topics, provided reasons for their selection, and described Web site authors’ vested interests. They also selected Web sites that illustrated misrepresentations, explained why, and described authors’ vested interests. Finally, they rated their own competence and confidence about different aspects of Web site information accuracy. Qualitative analyses of participants’ written comments revealed a strong awareness of political vested interests of Web site authors, a topic that had not emerged in previous research. In the second study, analyses of students’ responses to questionnaires about a more credible and a less credible Web site provided by their instructor indicated that students rated the more credible Web site higher. Students’ ratings of their general confidence in evaluating Web sites on accuracy/truthfulness as well as their confidence in detecting misrepresentations in Web sites were used as criteria in a reduced multiple regression model. Results showed that students generally differed in their perception of the two Web sites. Implications for future research are discussed.

Effects of Feedback on Learning Strategies in Learning Journals

Feedback on learning strategies is a promising instructional support measure. However, research on the expertise reversal effect suggests that if instructional support measures are provided to expert learners, these learners would have to integrate and cross-reference redundant instructional guidance with available knowledge structures, resulting in less available resources for effective learning processes. Thus, feedback might be detrimental for learners who possess high-quality learning strategies. Against this background, the authors used an online learning management system to employ a feedback procedure that included highly elaborated feedback on learning strategies in a learning journal. The effects of this feedback procedure were tested in a field study using a within-subject design with the factor feedback (no vs. yes). Participants were 246 university students who wrote journal entries over an entire term. The results show that providing feedback to low expertise learners is effective, whereas the effectiveness of feedback is reversed regarding high expertise learners.

An Empirical Study of Problematic Internet Use and Self-Esteem

Previous research has alluded to the existence of a relationship between self-esteem and problematic Internet use. The main aim of the study was to examine the relationship between problematic Internet use and a number of distinct demographic, behavioural, and psychosocial variables. Using an online survey, a self-selected sample comprising 1,467 Internet users participated in the study. The survey comprised 50 questions including validated scales for both self-esteem (Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale) and problematic Internet use (Internet Related Problem Scale; IPRS) in addition to demographic information. Based on previous literature, it was hypothesized that problematic Internet users were more likely than non-problematic Internet users to post low self-esteem scores. Results showed that self-esteem was strongly and negatively associated with IRPS. Also, for those with high IRPS scores, participation in online forums was the primary online activity followed by online gaming and chatting. Although the study comprised a self-selecting sample and utilized self-report, the results appear to provide robust evidence of an association between self-esteem and problematic Internet use mirroring prior research in the area.

Effects of Narcissism, Leisure Boredom, and Gratifications Sought on User-Generated Content Among Net-Generation Users

This research identifies the gratifications sought by the Net-generation when producing user-generated content (UGC) on the internet. Members of the Net-generation want to vent negative feelings, show affection to their friends and relatives, be involved in others’ lives, and fulfill their need to be recognized. These gratifications, to a large degree, were found to be significantly associated with the users’ various levels of participation in UGC (e.g., Facebook, blogs, online forums, etc.). What’s more, narcissism was predictive of content generation in social networking sites, blogs, and personal webpages, while leisure boredom was significantly linked to expressing views in forums, updating personal websites, and participating in consumer reviews. In particular, the results showed that Net-geners who encountered leisure boredom had a higher tendency to seek interaction with friends online. Implications of findings are discussed.

Growing From Childhood into Adolescence

In this theoretical review paper, the authors discuss five important issues about the science of cyber behavior as a field of scientific research. First, they argue that the science of cyber behavior as a field of research is entering its adolescence after growing from its childhood, but before spearheading into its adulthood. The paper reviews the current understanding of human behavior in general and state that behavior sciences have generated extensive knowledge about human behavior theoretically, empirically, and methodologically across multiple disciplines. Next, the authors focus on cyber communication as an example to illustrate current knowledge about various types of cyber behaviors. They showcase exemplary research programs on cyber behavior in four disciplines of behavioral sciences, social psychology, cognitive psychology, communication studies, and sociology. Finally, the paper outlines future research programs in five major directions for further development of the field. Taking the opportunity to commemorate the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning, the authors attempt to draw the first sketch of the science of cyber behavior from the perspective of history of science.

Attention Versus Learning of Online Content

Previous eye tracking studies have consistently associated increased eye fixations with comprehension difficulty. However, little research has probed this relationship in more complex news stories online. This exploratory within-subject experiment exposed participants (N = 20) to different text and graphic structures in health news stories. Results suggest enhanced learning, shorter viewing time, and fewer eye fixations for a linear text structure as compared to an “inverted pyramid” text commonly used in news. Graphics interacted with text, facilitating performance in the linear conditions but inhibiting them in the inverted pyramid structure. Graphics tended to also increase viewing time and eye fixations on text only and text combined with graphics for both structure conditions. Results discuss the importance of text structure in complex news and how the data are not entirely consistent with the assumption that explanatory graphics increase understanding.

Online Social Networking and Learning

This article introduces a youth-initiated practice: online social networking that is transforming our society in important ways and has vast implications for research concerning online behavior, the social and psychological aspects of online learning and the institution of education. In this paper, the author introduces the socio-technical features that characterize social networking systems and outlines results from preliminary research that suggests the informal social and intellectual practices in which participants naturally engage and how these relate to the competencies increasingly valued in formal education. The paper outlines four overlapping categories for research such as activities and outcomes, tool, place, and medium, identity and communication, and network analytics and methods. Within these categories the author outlines interesting research questions to pursue in documenting and interpreting the complexity of ‘learning’ within these spaces. Goals are to catalyze inquiry that bridges informal and formal learning and stimulate interdisciplinary conversation about where such agendas fit within and advance learning research.

Comparing the Characteristics of Text-Speak Used by English and Japanese Students

Text messaging is pervasive among the youth of many cultures, but the extent and nature of text-speak, the modified host language, is open to question. This study of English and Japanese undergraduates specifically investigated whether text-speak is a product of the technological constraints on the host language or is influenced by gender differences in communication style. The study had a between-subjects factorial design with two independent variables: language (English, Japanese) and gender (male, female). The dependent variable was frequency and type of text modification. The results show both a qualitative and quantitative difference in texting between the two groups with English texters being more active. However, English and Japanese females made more adaptations to the host-language than their within-culture male peers, even though the structure of the two host languages was very different. The greater use of abbreviations by females compared to males might be explained either by a higher engagement with this mode of communication or diverging goals between the sexes when texting.

Game Transfer Phenomena in Video Game Playing

Video game playing is a popular activity and its enjoyment among frequent players has been associated with absorption and immersion experiences. This paper examines how immersion in the video game environment can influence the player during the game and afterwards (including fantasies, thoughts, and actions). This is what is described as Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP). GTP occurs when video game elements are associated with real life elements triggering subsequent thoughts, sensations and/or player actions. To investigate this further, a total of 42 frequent video game players aged between 15 and 21 years old were interviewed. Thematic analysis showed that many players experienced GTP, where players appeared to integrate elements of video game playing into their real lives. These GTP were then classified as either intentional or automatic experiences. Results also showed that players used video games for interacting with others as a form of amusement, modeling or mimicking video game content, and daydreaming about video games. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate how video games triggered intrusive thoughts, sensations, impulses, reflexes, optical illusions, and dissociations.

Cyberbullying Among High School Students

Bullying, a typical occurrence in schools, has gone digital. As a result, cyberbullying has become ever more present among youth. The current study aimed to classify high school students into four groups based on their cyberbullying experiences and to examine the characteristics of these groups based on the sex and age of the participants and the level of parental monitoring. Participants were 133 high school students located in central Texas. A cluster analysis revealed four distinct groups of students who were “highly involved both as bully and victim,” “more victim than bully,” “more bully than victim,” or “least involved.” Significantly more girls and more students in lower grades were classified into the “more victim than bully group” while older students were more likely to be classified into the “more bully than victim” group. No significant differences were found between cluster membership and the degree of parental monitoring.