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Our technologies are progressively developing into algorithmic devices that seamlessly interface with digital personhood. This text discusses the ways in which technology is increasingly becoming a part of personhood and the resulting ethical issues. It extends upon the framework for a brain-based cyberpsychology outlined by the author's earlier book Cyberpsychology and the Brain: The Interaction of Neuroscience and Affective Computing (Cambridge, 2017). Using this framework, Thomas D. Parsons investigates the ethical issues involved in cyberpsychology research and praxes, which emerge in algorithmically coupled people and technologies. The ethical implications of these ideas are important as we consider the cognitive enhancements that can be afforded by our technologies. If people are intimately linked to their technologies, then removing or damaging the technology could be tantamount to a personal attack. On the other hand, algorithmic devices may threaten autonomy and privacy. This book reviews these and other issues.
List of contents
Part I. Introduction: 1. Cyberpsychology theory and praxes: Ethical and methodological considerations; 2. Ethical approaches to cyberpsychology; 3. Digital and extended selves in cyberspace; 4. Neuroethics and the future of cyberpsychology; Part II. Ethical Cyberpsychology Research and Interventions with Special Populations: 5. Cyberlearning and ethical considerations for using technology with children; 6. Cyberpsychology, aging, and gerontechnology; 7. Problematic Internet use, online gambling, smartphones, and videogames; 8. Telepsychology and the ethical delivery of eTherapy; Part III. Ethical Issues in Social Media and Internet Research: 9. Social media ethics Section 1: Facebook, Twitter, and Google - oh my!; 10. Social media ethics Section 2: Ethical research with social media; 11. Social media ethics Section 3: Digital Citizenship; Part IV. Applied Ethical Considerations: 12. Virtual reality ethics; 13. Videogames, videogamers, and the ethics of videogame design.
About the author
Thomas D. Parsons is Director of the NetDragon Digital Research Centre and the Computational Neuropsychology and Simulation (CNS) Lab at University of North Texas (UNT). He is full Professor at UNT and a clinical neuropsychologist. In addition to his patents for eHarmony.com's Matching System, he has invented and validated several virtual environments.
Summary
Written for researchers, students, and professionals, this book offers cyberpsychologists a resource for grappling with the ethical implications of cyberpsychology research, tools, and discoveries. Using digital psychology, it discusses the ways in which technology is increasingly becoming a part of personhood and the resulting ethical issues.
