CyberPsychology and Affective Computing

Cyberpsychology is a recent branch of psychology whose main research objects are the processes of change induced by new Technologies. Some of these processes are related to and involve a variety of affective processes. The discipline's overlaps with affective computing and human-computer interaction in general are significant, yet its psychological origins suggest that the research communities have somewhat different focuses. This chapter reviews their histories and discusses the similarities and differences that are currently found in the different bodies of literature. The authors focus in particular on how Technologies can be used to help people change behavior in both clinical situations (cybertherapy) and in personal development (positive technology/computing and smart health).