Lurking on the Internet: A Small-Group Assignment that Puts a Human Face on Psychopathology

Lurking on the Internet aims to put a human face on psychopathology for the abnormal psychology course. Student groups are assigned major diagnostic categories and instructed to search the Internet for discussion forums, individual blogs, or YouTube videos where affected individuals discuss their symptoms and lives. After discussing the ethics of passively observing public sites, students monitor relevant sites throughout the term and evaluate what they are learning in class from the perspective of affected individuals. At the end of the term, students submit individual papers based on their observations. Periodically, individual groups are given opportunities to share their findings and, depending on the size of the class, to make formal presentations. (Contains 1 table and 2 notes.)