10 - An evolutionary perspective of online behaviour (Part 1: Trolling)

This episode and the next one focus on Dr Evita March’s research in the area of cyber psychology. In this first part of our discussion, we start by using mate selection as an example of evolutionary psychology. We then go on to see how the dark tetrad of personality can help us understand antisocial online behaviours like trolling. In the next episode, we dive into Evita’s research on cyber dating abuse.

 

Dr Evita March is a Senior Lecturer in psychology in the School of Science, Psychology and Sport, Federation University. If you want to keep up to date with Evita, you can visit her Federation University staff profile page or reach out on Twitter.

 

Research papers discussed in this episode
March, E., & Steele, G. (2020). High esteem and hurting others online: Trait sadism moderates the relationship between self-esteem and internet trolling. Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking, 23(7), 441–446. DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2019.0652

                                                                                              

Sensitive content warning

This episode refers briefly to suicide as a result of being trolled online. However, suicide is not the focus of the episode and lived experiences are not discussed. Please take care while listening and if you are feeling discomfort and think you would benefit from some support, please reach out to your GP or contact a service like Lifeline.

 

Cite this episode

MacDonald, J. B. & March, E. (2022, April 20). An evolutionary perspective of online behaviour (Part 1: Trolling) (No. 10) [Audio podcast episode]. In Psych Attack. www.psychattack.com

Acknowledgements
The transcript for this episode was developed by Eugenie Dale.