The Place of the Virtual Image of the Self in the Internet Users’ Structure of Personal Constructs

    Introduction. Virtual space runs through all spheres of modern person’s social life. There is a need to revise many of the fundamental characteristics of the personality and its behaviour through the prism of its implementation in the virtual space. Changes occur in the categorical structures of the personality, which regulate and interpret the experience gained and are directly involved in the formation of a set of ideas about a person’s own Self. Therefore, the relevance of assessing and analyzing these changes is formed.

   Purpose. Identification of the main categories of interpretation of an Internet user individual experience in the context of forming their virtual self, as well as determining the place of the virtual image of the Self in one’s categorical system.

   Materials and Methods. The Role Construct Repertoire Test (G. Kelly) was used to assess personal constructs associated with the interpretation of individual experience acquired in the virtual space. The sample consisted of 50 students aged 17 to 26 years.

   Results. We identified categories that combine constructs involved in the interpretation of the Internet users’ experience and represent the basic parameters of their assessment of the Self: “relationships” (the Self & the others), “self-attitude” (the Self & the Self), “self-realization” (the Self & the other Self), “freedom of action” (the Self & boundaries), and “well-being” (the Self & states). A high significant connection of the virtual image with the categories “relationship”, “self-realization” and “freedom of action” was observed.

   Discussion and Conclusion. The discovered connection is determined by the wide possibilities of the virtual space and the reflexive nature of the virtual personality activity. The results emphasize the importance of the processes and mechanisms of self-awareness that underlie the construction of the image of the Self and undergo significant changes in the virtual space. The practical significance lies in the possibility of preventing and correcting destructive manifestations associated with the formation of a distorted idea of one’s self in the virtual space, based on categorical system analysis.

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