Decoding the Human Psychology at play in the Cyber world

  Decoding the Human Psychology at play in the Cyber world

-Shachika Mishra (11-F)

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The concrete world as we knew it ages ago has been engulfed in the newly introduced cyber world. It is easy to reach out to the most distant corners of the world and obtain information in minutes. The splendid power of connectivity and easy access is on one’s fingertips quite literally and has made our lives much easier. We are now able to save lots of time due to cyber intervention.  

But one must also keep in mind the demerits of the cyber world. It empowers every individual, sure, but it only takes proficiency in navigating it and ill mindset to disrupt the world.

Everything we do or a decision we make, we show something of who we are. It is the same with hackers sending phishing mails and texts. Not only do they leave digital traces but also traces of their own personality. Hacking is not a technical problem it is a psychological problem.

Research conducted around the world tells us that most of the hackers are male, under 30, have above average intelligence and are from well off backgrounds. The question that arises now is that if they have a pretty well-off life then why they must indulge themselves in lawlessness. Reports suggest that they do this for fun and seeking thrill.
Hackers don't only hack a system but a person too. They analyze their target's weakness and exploit them. 

They use various tactics to do so   

1. The art of misdirection

They direct the attention of the target to other things while hacking them. They may tell them that they have been hacked and while trying to resolve the issue they may actually sabotage their system.

2. Authority Principle

To persuade their targets, they use all the stereotypical symbols  

that represent authority to convince people.

For example, they may use symbols of government and authoritative figures. 

Apart from hacking, psychology is put to use to give website or app operators maximum satisfaction.

The system analyses the behavior patterns of the user and try to personalize them according to their preferences.

Eg:- Recommendations on social media apps like YouTube 

For smoother operation, many times psychology is used in the smallest of things to refine the user's experience.

1.Affordances

It provides people with strong clues of the operation of things. Users don't need pictures our instructions to understand it's functions
Eg:- ◀▶ (Left and Right Buttons)


2. We remember better when it is triggered by sensory ques like word, picture or sound

Eg:- Icons

In the end cyber word has been made to equip the lives of people. And it would be difficult for us to interact with it if it does not understand our behavior patterns hence it is programmed to mould to ours.