The connection between psychology and computers is critical for innovation and user-centered technology design. It’s also where unintentional harms 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.
Traditionally, research in psychology relies on two fundamental methods of collecting data which are laboratory tests and surveys or interviews [1]. The former study a particular aspect in a small, controlled setting; while the latter measure larger behavior with self-report surveys or (potentially structured) interviews. Both have inherent limitations.
Computers, however store and analyze massive amounts of data at a high speed in ways that conventional methods cannot. This makes them powerful new tools for psychological researchers and 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 experts in the field: psychologists with domain knowledge, and computer scientists who have the expertise to construct large-scale tracking systems and manage and model the resulting data.
There was a lack of collaboration in the past. For instance, Google directors have been more likely to study computer and computational science (29 percent have studied it) in comparison to psychology (less than 2%). This has led to psychologists being under-represented in leadership at tech companies. This has meant that technology products often fail to take psychological factors into account.
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