Online Disinhibition : Reconsideration of the Construct and Proposal of a New Model

On the Internet, one comes across behaviors that are not observed in real life. The online disinhibition theory, pioneered by Suler (2004), has frequently been cited in empirical studies to explain this phenomenon. However, scholars have not yet reached a consensus regarding the construct of online disinhibition. This study explored an appropriate construct of online disinhibition for psychological research and proposed a model to explain its functioning. Previous studies have examined online disinhibition from three perspectives. This paper discusses the contributions and limitations of previous studies and postulates that psychological research on online disinhibition should be conducted from the perspective of mental state. Three signifi cant models that explain the working of online disinhibition were reviewed: the “benign/toxic disinhibition model,” “online disinhibition/behaviors model,” and “online disinhibition and deindividuation model.” Finally, the “motivation-based online disinhibition model” is proposed as an improved model that solves the limitations of the aforementioned models