The connection between psychology and computers is a crucial juncture for innovative design and user-centered technology. It’s also a place where a lot of unintentional injuries to people occur. That’s why we need psychologists to play a bigger role in tech development–particularly given that many technology companies change human behavior at scale and profit from behavioral changes, and generally embrace scientific innovation.
In the past the collection of data in psychological research was based on two basic methods: laboratory studies and surveys [1]. The former is a way to study a particular aspect in a small controlled setting, whereas the latter evaluates general behavior using self-reporting questionnaires or (potentially) structured interviews. Both have inherent limitations.
Computers are able to process and analyze massive amounts of information at a fast speed – and in ways which traditional methods aren’t able to. This makes them powerful new tools for psychological researchers which opens up a new realm of investigation. For example, a new field called Psycho(neuro)informatics is emerging that merges psychology and computer science to develop models of human brains and intelligence. This requires a group comprised of psychologists with expertise in the domain and computer scientists www.rebootdata.net/generated-post/ with the knowledge necessary to build large-scale systems, manage and analyze data.
However, until recently, there was not much collaboration between the fields. Google directors, for example, are more likely to have completed studies in computational and computer science (29 percent) than psychology (less that 2percent). This has resulted in the absence of psychology within the leadership of tech companies, and has had the result that many tech products fail to take into account psychological principles.
