1. Introduction
In the 21st century, humanity has entered a virtual world characterized by digitization, networking, interaction, and virtualization [
1]. Network civilization has gradually become the new form of human social civilization development. Network civilization is the transformation of the “information wave” into virtual civilization, which is also defined as the virtual civilization in cyberspace [
2]. As a new civilization, network civilization plays a vital role in social development, spiritual culture, and the need to study the civilization of the virtual world [
3,
4,
5]. However, the contemporary study tends to focus on the identification with the values of network civilization, Internet literacy [
6,
7], practices [
8], cognitive direction [
9], and guidance [
10]. These studies are primarily theoretical and lack empirical research. The study of network civilization, from perception through behavioral selection, has received little attention. College students, in particular, are the most active in cyberspace and the most frequent Internet users. Meanwhile, these studies disregard the fact that the cultivation of network civilization is a dynamic process that necessitates value transmission and supervision for developing subjects and progressively shapes value perception, identity, and selection. Nonetheless, most academics define the essence of network civilization as value identification, ignoring the selection of value behavior. Identification and behavioral selection are not synonymous. Understanding the worth of college students’ network civilization is necessary for the subjects to act on their behavior following value identification, which is the ultimate goal of network civilization.
Consequently, because of its theoretical and practical significance, the significance of network civilization merits additional consideration. The cultivation of network civilization is a significant indicator of college students’ network moral education and study of values and is also related to college students’ overall development and growth. The psychological structure of college students’ network civilization is currently unclear and should be researched further. The purpose of this study is to explore the psychological structure of college students’ network civilization and the mechanism of value identification and value judgment in psychological perception and value selection by analyzing college students’ perception, judgment, identification, and selection of network civilization.
2. Literature Review
All nations and civilizational systems in human society have undergone historical transitions from their various civilizational stages, stages such as agricultural civilization, industrial civilization, information civilization, and today’s network civilization [
11,
12]. This is an objective historical development trend and a subjective strategic choice for the growth of nations. Network civilization, as an emerging form and field of civilization development of human society under the conditions of the information network society, refers to the state of human society’s development and its beneficial outcomes after joining the information network society [
13]. In the second section of the Internet era (2020–2070), which will be flooded with ubiquitous computers and lead to enormous social transformations, we refer to the existing civilization as the network civilization [
12]. The study of network civilization is focused on scientific marvels and the social repercussions of technological advancement. In terms of historical history, network civilization is both the inheritance and development of conventional civilization and the new form of material civilization handed down by traditional civilization. In terms of spiritual values, network civilization refers to the stage of development and the necessities of people’s spiritual and cultural lives, which are advancing in step with the level of social development.
Understanding the meaning and purpose of network civilization is essential to defining the psychological structure of this society. The state of human social development known as “network civilization” is exemplified by people’s use of the Internet, their cultural practices on it, their spiritual beliefs, and the various spiritual products that they have produced by using the Internet’s unique medium and platform, as well as their network ideologies and moral principles [
14]. Network civilization, as the accumulation, cohesiveness, and precipitation of sophisticated and positive online cultural achievements, has a significant impact on the alteration of the ideological dynamics, development of values, and enhancement of skill quality among college students [
15]. Tsai and other experts believe that the Internet is rapidly becoming a fundamental aspect of global civilization because of its abundance of knowledge, ease, and entertainment. The Internet has altered how people work and play [
16]. Some experts even predict that the Internet may usher in a decentralized and deconcentrated social civilization that mobilizes every node of human society. Most domestic and international researchers concur that the network has created a new form of human social civilization, that network civilization has a direct influence on the spiritual civilization of society, and that network civilization is a significant indicator of social development and progress [
9,
17,
18].
The network world is conducive to the flourishing of the spiritual self [
19]. When discussing network civilization, it is necessary to investigate how individuals might realize their affiliation with the cultural order and value systems [
9] that define network civilization. Once people identify with these cultural order and value notions, they will become firmly ingrained in their culture and represent the core principles of network civilization [
20]. According to the theory of planned behavior (TPB), attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are the three primary variables of behavioral intentions. The more positive the attitude, the stronger the behavioral intention, and vice versa [
21]. The knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) model theory proposes that knowledge (perception) and beliefs influence practice (behavior) [
22,
23]. According to earlier studies, when college students enter the network society, they establish certain psychological perspectives. Attitude is the self-assessment of the phenomenon and behavior of network civilization. Subjective norms and perceptual behavioral control influence judgment and identification with network civilization, ultimately determining behavioral intention and influencing value selection. Based on KAP and TPB, we proposed the existence of mediating variables between psychological perception and the value selection of network civilization cultivation, i.e., value judgment and value identification.
Civilization in the cyber world can be considered as the recognition of cyber morality, and the final value selection of individuals can be regarded as the identification and selection of moral behavior. Moral identity theory proposes moral judgment and moral identity as significant measurement elements for the research into moral behavior [
24]. Moral identity is another crucial concept of moral cognition derived from social identity theory. Typically, morality consists of three elements: behavioral standards, moral judgment, and moral action [
25]. Because moral judgment does not inevitably lead to action [
26], scholars have established the concept of moral identity. Moral identity is the foundation for social identification and is regarded as a self-regulatory system that motivates moral action [
24]. Thinking about moral identity can be traced back to Blasi’s self-model [
27]. It proposes a connection between moral judgment and moral action. Simply put, when a person’s identity is ethically focused, moral judgments may predict moral behavior more accurately when filtered through accountability judgments. In addition, social identity theory claims that a portion of a person’s self-concept derives from their view of their participation in a social group and their perception of the value or emotional significance of that membership [
28]; this is the initial psychological perception. Moreover, recent empirical research indicates that moral judgment and identity shape moral behavior [
29]. This indicates that the interaction between moral judgment and moral identity impacts moral behavior. Research based on moral behavior also found that moral judgment is the most critical factor influencing moral behavior, and moral identity influences moral behavior [
29]. Therefore, the value selection of college students’ network civilization is the moral behavior in the network society. It is necessary to analyze the combined effect of value judgment and value identification on the value selection of network civilization based on college students’ psychological perceptions, when examining the psychological structure of network civilization.
In conclusion, this study is based on the psychological structure of the network civilization of college students. Using the knowledge, attitude, and practice model, perspectives of planned behavior theory, and moral identity theory, this study explores the psychological structure of college students’ network civilization cultivation, i.e., the interrelationship between psychological perception, value judgment, value identification, and value selection, a structure that is essential for understanding network civilization and promoting the development of network morality in virtual space.
3. Research Hypothesis
One must examine each connection between psychological perception and behavioral selection to investigate the psychological structure of college students’ network culture. The realization of the value of network civilization is the selection of behavior. This will also mark the success of human civilization in the 21st century [
2]. The theory of planned behavior proposes that correct perceptual behavior directly predicts the likelihood of the behavior occurring and that behavioral beliefs induce either positive or negative attitudes toward behavior [
30,
31]. There is a connection between perception and behavior, as demonstrated by research showing that the perception of any social stimulus activates various associated knowledge in memory [
32], social perception directly influences behavior, and perception and behavior are interconnected [
33]. Meanwhile, the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) model theory proposes a progressive relationship between knowledge (perception), beliefs, and behavior [
34]. When humans enter the virtual world of network information, they form perceptions and memories of the network world in their brains, which is the starting point of the psychological structure of network civilization, i.e., psychological perception. Earlier research has indicated that from the standpoint of cognitive psychology, college students’ psychological understanding of values can promote individual and direct behaviors [
35]. This form of psychological perception for network civilization is the initial value experience gained by the cultivation subject. This type of valuable experience has active implications, like an invisible hand searching for and capturing the attributes of objective objects to meet the subject’s needs. Once found, it effectively forms a psychological perception and a psychological value, thus introducing the subject to the value world from the fact world [
36]. This indicates a connection between people’s perceptions of the network world and their value selections. Based on the available research, we propose the first hypothesis:
H1: Psychological perception significantly and positively influences value selection.
Moral development theory states that moral judgment is a necessary but insufficient condition for moral action [
37], and moral judgments are more-accurate predictors of actual moral behavior [
38]. Related studies also confirm that moral judgment and moral action are congruent [
39,
40]. Various research has demonstrated that value judgment enters the psychological cognition process [
41] and elevates psychological perception to a more reasonable level [
42]. The value judgment determines whether something is meaningful, how meaningful it is, and whether its presence is necessary [
43]. Human society is interactive in terms of the intrinsic prescripts of value judgment, and the social properties of humans mandate that they cannot renounce value judgment and engage in social collaboration [
44]. Consequently, value judgment is a continuation of psychological cognition and determines the final direction of value selection. On the basis of the above literature, we propose the following hypotheses:
H2: Psychological perception is positively associated with value judgments.
H3: Value judgment mediates the relationship between psychological perception and value selection.
According to other researchers, moral judgments shape moral behavior [
45], and moral decision-making begins with a perception of the moral issue [
46]. In further research on moral behavior, studies have confirmed that moral identity is also a key determinant of moral behavior and that the interaction between moral judgment and moral identity influences moral behavior [
29]. Moral identity helps address the judgment–action gap and has become an essential component of the theory of moral development [
26,
47]. In addition, Blasi showed that moral judgments more reliably predict moral behavior [
27], and moral identity is the unity of moral and ego systems [
48]. Value selection entails weighing and selecting among “many” and is a decision made by the subject following a rational examination and comparison of numerous value relations [
42]. This demonstrates that value selection has more-evident value pursuit and valuable purpose than value identification and is the value subject’s active and voluntary conduct. Previous research has demonstrated that values and human behavior are interdependent and that a person’s adoption of culture results in the acquisition of a particular manner of behaving and the establishment of particular values [
49]. The psychological structure of college students’ network civilization must progress from perception, judgment, and identification to forming a value selection. Values give a scale for determining the value relationship between people and the world, guide individuals’ practical and cognitive activities, and determine the value direction of those actions [
50]. Value selection is a choice and practice of moral behavior, a logical corollary of psychological perception, judgment, and identification with values. Therefore, when exploring the network civilization of college students on the basis of the above literature, it is vital to comprehensively analyze the influence of moral judgment and moral identity on conduct, and from this analysis, we propose the following hypotheses:
H4: Psychological perception is positively correlated with value identification.
H5: Value judgment is positively correlated with value identification.
H6: Value identification mediates the relationship between psychological perception and value selection.
H7: Value judgment is positively correlated with value selection.
H8: Value identification is positively correlated with value selection.
H9: Psychological perception influences value selection via the mediation chain of value judgment and value identification.