A PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF DISCOURSE PRACTICES OF COLLEGE STUDENTS’ VIRTUAL COMMUNICATION

Abstract

This article investigates the discourse practices of college students in virtual communication, emphasizing the impact on personal changes. The research aims to find out psychological features of college students’ discourse practices based on their virtual communication written products – email letters. The study employs Fairclough's (2010) three-dimensional model and the social constructionism approach to explore the relationship between discursive practices and social practices, drawing parallels with Vygotsky's (1978) sociocultural theory. The research analyzes 310 student emails, employing Critical Discourse Analysis, content analysis, and intent analysis to examine communication styles and motives. The findings reveal that virtual communication contributes to changes in the emotional and behavioural aspects of students, including increased anxiety, depression, social frustration, loneliness, aggressiveness, and motivation to avoid failure. The research identifies dominant communication styles such as dramatic, contradictory, attentive, and reliable, often observed concurrently in emails.