The connection between psychology and computers is critical for innovation and user-centered technology design. It’s also where many unintended 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, psychological research relies on two main methods of data collection: lab experiments and surveys or interviews [1]. The former examines a specific aspect in a small controlled environment, while the latter evaluates general behaviour using self-reporting questions or (potentially) structured interviews. Both have their own limitations.
Computers, however store and analyze massive amounts of information at a rapid speed, and in ways that traditional methods can’t. This creates powerful new tools for psychological researchers which opens up a new field of study. 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 an expert team: psychologists with domain expertise, and computer scientists who have the knowledge to design large-scale tracking systems and to manage and model the data that results from it.
There was a lack of collaboration in the past. Google directors, for example are more likely to have a degree in computational and computer science (29 percent) than psychology (less that 2%). This has likely led to how to monitor your kids computer use psychologists being under-represented as leaders at tech companies. This has meant that technology products tend not to take psychological considerations into account.