The interaction between computers and psychology is an important juncture to creativity and user-centered design in technology. It’s also a place where a lot of unintentional injuries 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, research in psychology relies on two fundamental methods of data collection that are lab experiments and surveys, or interviews [1]. The first focuses on a particular aspect in a small controlled setting, whereas the latter evaluates general behavior by using self-reporting questionnaires or (potentially) structured interviews. Both have inherent limitations.
Computers, however, can record and analyze vast quantities of data at a high speed – and in ways that traditional methods are not able to. This makes them powerful new tools for psychological researchers and open up a new area 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 experts in the field: psychologists with domain knowledge and computer scientists who have the expertise to construct large-scale tracking systems as well as manage and analyze the resulting data.
There was a lack of collaboration in the past. For instance, Google directors have been more inclined to study computer and computational science (29 percent had studied it) in comparison to psychology (less than two percent). This has likely resulted in psychologists not being a www.rebootdata.net/generated-post/ majority in leadership in tech companies, resulting in that technology products tend not to take psychological aspects into consideration.