The interaction between computers and psychology is a crucial juncture for innovation and user-centered design in technology. However, it’s also the place where many accidental harms to people happen. 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.
Traditionally, psychological research is based on two main methods of data collection: lab experiments and surveys or interviews [1]. The former investigate one particular aspect in a controlled, small setting; while the latter measure broader behavior using self-report questionnaires or (potentially structured) interviews. Both have inherent weaknesses.
Computers are able to store and analyze large amounts of information at a high speed and in ways that traditional methods aren’t able to. This makes them powerful new tools for psychologists which opens up a new field of research. 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 team of experts: psychologists with domain expertise, and computer scientists who have the ability to create large-scale tracking systems and manage and analyze the data that results from it.
However, until recently, there was little collaboration between the fields. For instance, Google directors have been more likely to be interested in computer and computational science (29 percent have studied it) as opposed to psychology (less than two percent). This is likely to have led to psychologists not being a majority in leadership at tech companies–with a result that technology products often fail to take psychological aspects into account.
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