Noelia Flores
Faculty of Psychology, University of Salamanca (Spain)
Cyberpsychology
Today, it is unthinkable to understand our life and our society in the 21st century without the presence of digital technologies. These have transformed our daily lives and have brought with them changes that have a direct impact on our way of being, thinking, behaving, relating and situating ourselves in the world around us. Cyberpsychology or digital psychology is considered an emerging subdiscipline within applied psychology and emerged towards the end of the 1990s. Its focus is on the study of the relationship between people and technologies and, more specifically, on analyzing and understanding how this interaction affects human behavior and functioning. Although most cyberpsychology studies have focused on the Internet and how people interact in virtual environments, this new field of knowledge also encompasses the study of other contexts where technology plays an important role. Therefore, how we relate, communicate or use technological media and devices, what are our main motivations, intentions, or how they modify and/or alter our way of thinking, feeling or behaving, in addition to other psychological factors involved, as well as the main risks or repercussions of such interaction, both in virtual environments and in offline contexts, will be issues of particular concern to cyberpsychology. Throughout the presentation that will take place in the panel of experts, we will address the main aspects of this new field of knowledge and analyze its application in contexts as diverse as education, health and quality of life, among others. All this in order to help us understand its benefits and repercussions on our behavior as well as to take actions that allow us to promote and develop a healthy digital life.
Noelia Flores Robaina, is Full Professor of the Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatments at the University of Salamanca. She has been Academic Secretary of that Department from 2016 to 2021 and is currently Deputy Director. PhD in Psychology since 2007 and Master in Integration of People with Disabilities in 2010. She is a researcher at INICO, University Institute for Community Integration, member of the Biomedical Research Group of Salamanca and senior researcher at the Millennium Institute for Caregiving Research. Throughout her teaching and research career of more than 15 years, she has held different management positions and has taught in different official postgraduate courses and own degrees. She has participated as a trainer in more than 60 courses given in companies and other national and international public organizations. She is author and co-author of more than 100 academic and scientific publications in journals of impact (4 books; 41 book chapters; 87 scientific articles). She has participated in 37 funded national and international research projects or contracts, in 16 teaching innovation projects, and has made more than 280 presentations at conferences. He has made several stays in renowned universities and research centers in Mexico, Romania, Chile and Uruguay. Her main lines of research are related to health psychology, cyberpsychology, stress and psychosocial risks, quality of work life, disability, caregivers and inclusion.
