A Scoping Review of the Psychological Perspectives on Online Volunteering

Online volunteering is distinguishable from in-presence volunteering due to its procedural nature as being partially or totally online. Over the past decades, scholars within psychology have been interested in understanding the online volunteering process. However, while bringing attention to the phenomenon, psychology still has to manifest concentrated engagement with online volunteerism. This review seeks to situate the study of online volunteerism in psychology. Using the scoping review approach, the paper maps the psychological perspectives on online volunteering based on sources collected via structured search on PsychInfo, Scopus and Web of Science (N = 14). First, it outlines the definitions, theories and evidence-based knowledge of online volunteering. Second, the paper discusses the role of the psychology of online volunteering and its prominent contributions for such a form of volunteerism in documenting, reinforcing and mobilising processes at the individual and social levels. The paper concludes by setting new vistas for research and practices.