Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Social Foundations of Self IV: Self in Digital Communication

Social Foundations of Self IV: Self in Digital Communication

Since the early 2000s, computer-mediated communication (CMC) has grown rapidly, playing a crucial role in self-development. A key distinction between CMC and real-life interactions is the lack of a physically present partner. This absence makes non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and paralinguistic signals unavailable in CMC platforms like email, instant messaging, or social media. The lack of these cues can create ambiguity and complicate how feedback is interpreted.The...

The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison

The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison

According to Charles Cooley, we base our image on what we think other people see (Cooley 1902). We imagine how we must appear to others, then react to this speculation. We don certain clothes, prepare our hair in a particular manner, wear makeup, use cologne, and the like—all with the notion that our presentation of ourselves is going to affect how others perceive us. We expect a certain reaction, and, if lucky, we get the one we desire and feel good about it. But more than that, Cooley...

Social Exchange Theory

Social Exchange Theory

We have discussed why we form relationships, what attracts us to others, and different types of love. But what determines whether we are satisfied with and stay in a relationship? One theory that provides an explanation is social exchange theory. According to social exchange theory, we act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship with others (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003).

Social Exchange Theory

Social Exchange Theory

As formulated by John Thibaut and Harold Kelley, Social Exchange Theory explains human relationships as economic-like exchanges that maximize rewards and minimize costs. This theory suggests that individuals engage in relationships to gain benefits and reduce burdens, similar to economic transactions. It has been widely applied to various types of relationships, including romantic, professional, and social interactions.Rewards and Costs in RelationshipsRelationship rewards include emotional...

Community Based Intervention

Community Based Intervention

Community-based interventions in mental health represent a paradigm shift from institution-centered care to treatments embedded within the fabric of local communities. By prioritizing inclusion and leveraging existing societal structures, this approach fosters a supportive environment conducive to addressing mental health challenges while promoting individual dignity and agency.
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...

Virtual Work

Virtual Work

The principle of virtual work states that if a body is in static and dynamic equilibrium, then the sum of all the virtual work done by all external forces and couple moments for any given virtual displacement must be zero.
In static equilibrium, a body can experience an imaginary or virtual movement, such as displacement or rotation. The virtual work done by a force is equal to the dot product of force and virtual displacement in the direction of the force. When it comes to virtually rotating a...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same journal

CyberEurope.

Cyberpsychology & behavior : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society·2009

Same journal

Multimodality and interactivity: connecting properties of serious games with educational outcomes.

Cyberpsychology & behavior : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society·2009

Same journal

Emotional response to virtual reality exposure across different cultures: the role of the attribution process.

Cyberpsychology & behavior : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society·2009

Same journal

Abstracts from CyberTherapy 14. Designing the Future of Healthcare. June 21-23, 2009. Lago Maggiore, Verbania, Italy.

Cyberpsychology & behavior : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society·2009

Same journal

The effect of social support derived from World of Warcraft on negative psychological symptoms.

Cyberpsychology & behavior : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society·2009

Same journal

First-person shooter games as a way of connecting to people: "brothers in blood".

Cyberpsychology & behavior : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society·2009

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community

Published on: May 31, 2019

Developing a sense of virtual community measure.

Anita L Blanchard¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA. alblanch@email.uncc.edu

Cyberpsychology & Behavior : the Impact of the Internet, Multimedia and Virtual Reality on Behavior and Society

|December 19, 2007

Summary

This study introduces a new measure for sense of virtual community (SOVC), which better explains online group dynamics like support exchange and member identification than traditional measures.

More Related Videos

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills

Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills

Published on: April 23, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community

Published on: May 31, 2019

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills

Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills

Published on: April 23, 2014

Area of Science:

Social Psychology
Human-Computer Interaction
Communication Studies

Background:

Sense of community is crucial for online group cohesion.
Existing measures for sense of community (SOC) are designed for face-to-face interactions and may not fully capture virtual environments.
Understanding virtual community dynamics requires specialized measurement tools.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and validate a new Sense of Virtual Community (SOVC) measure.
To adapt existing Sense of Community (SOC) concepts for online settings.
To improve the measurement of social cohesion in virtual communities.

Main Methods:

Developed a new SOVC scale based on existing SOC frameworks.
Compared the SOVC measure against a traditional SOC measure.
Collected data from 265 members across seven distinct online groups.

Main Results:

The new SOVC measure explained at least 7% more variance in key online community indicators.
Significant differences were identified between sense of community in virtual versus face-to-face contexts.
The SOVC measure demonstrated higher predictive power for exchanging support and member identification.

Conclusions:

The developed SOVC measure is a valid and improved tool for assessing community belonging in online settings.
The findings highlight the unique characteristics of virtual communities compared to physical ones.
This research advances the psychometric understanding of virtual social dynamics.