Michael Nuccitelli, Psy.D.
Thanks
Olga Vera, Ph.D. & CPA
Thank you, Dr. Olga Vera, Maggie McCormick, Colorado Psychological Association (CPA) and the participants who attended my training held on November 3, 2016. I’m honored to have been given the opportunity to present iPredator and its related concepts. CPA is the first state association to be introduced to my Information Age constructs. Those who participated offered valuable insights that I will soon investigate.
Dr. Olga Vera is the new President of the Colorado Psychological Association (CPA) and was an incredible host. I cannot thank her enough for supporting my work. During our full-day training, the participants were introduced to the eight typologies of iPredator including cyberbullying, cyberstalking, internet trolls and online child exploitation. Of the many topics covered, cyberbullying was emphasized most.
Dr. Vera and the training participants were highly receptive to my staunch belief that cyberbullying prevention and internet safety training needs to be compulsory education in schools throughout the United States. It was confirmed by the participants that parents, primary caregivers and the educational system need to be active participants in the fight against cyberbullying.
In addition to cyberbullying prevention, I also introduced some of my iPredator sub-constructs including Predatory Trolls, Online Psychopathy, ODDOR and Phantasist. I was hugely impressed to see that many of the participants offered insights and observations that will further advance my understanding of the psychodynamics involved with iPredator. Outside of iPredator, ODDOR and Phantasist were the two sub-constructs that involved psychological interpretations. A brief definition of each is as follows:
Offline Distress Dictates Online Response
(ODDOR)
Offline Distress Dictates Online Response (ODDOR) is a sub-tenet of iPredator, which posits that offline psychological functioning directly influences one’s online interactions. Whether someone is an online assailant, cyber attack target or both, ODDOR does not discriminate. ODDOR postulates that temporary and long-standing psychological states can significantly taint an online user’s behaviors and interpretations. Perceptually isolated, ignorance of the existence of ODDOR and experiencing atypical affective and cognitive states increases the probability of being targeted by an online assailant. In addition to being at a greater risk of cybercrime, ODDOR influences an online user to partake in destructive and self-destructive online activities.
Phantasist
A Phantasist is an online user who obsessively prioritizes & protects their profile, avatar or persona to engage in malevolent or nefarious activities. In most cases, they use the online persona to hide their identity and exploit or intimidate others. The Phantasist has difficulty differentiating their true self from their online identity (aka, Reality-Virtuality Continuum), which is driven by their need to control, subjugate or seek attention from others. For unknown reasons, the Phantasist increasingly becomes absorbed by their online identity.
Dr. Vera and the training participants shed new light on the psychology of both online assailants and their targets. In addition to thanking Dr. Vera, I’d also like to thank Richard Kapolka senior and junior. This father and son team flew in from the East Coast to attend my training. Not only did they contribute to the discussions, but they took the photographs published in this post. I am grateful for their help.
Thank You Olga Vera, Ph.D. and CPA
iPredator and its related concepts have now been presented to a state psychological association. With a little luck, they will be introduced to other state associations, professional organizations and school systems. Thank you, Olga Vera, Ph.D. and the Colorado Psychological Association for your support. The time spent with you has confirmed my belief that it is time for America to begin prioritizing cyberbullying prevention and internet safety. For interested parties and the training participants who did not receive my cyberbullying slide show and iPredator Notes PDF, both are available for direct download by clicking on the blue links here.
Michael Nuccitelli, Psy.D.
Michael Nuccitelli, Psy.D. is a NYS licensed psychologist, cyberpsychology researcher and online safety educator. In 2009, Dr. Nuccitelli finalized his dark side of cyberspace concept called iPredator. Since 2010, he has advised those seeking information about cyberbullying, cyberstalking, cybercriminal minds, internet addiction and his Dark Psychology concept. By day Dr. Nuccitelli is a practicing psychologist, clinical supervisor and owner of MN Psychological Services, PLLC. After work and on the weekends, he volunteers helping online users who have been cyber-attacked. Dr. Nuccitelli’s is always available to interested parties and the media at no cost. This website and everything created by Dr. Nuccitelli is educational, free and public domain.
