The connection between psychology and computers is vital to advancing and design of technology that is centered around the user. However, it’s also where the majority of unintended 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, psychological research rely on two basic methods of collecting data which are laboratory experiments and surveys or interviews [1]. The former examines a specific aspect in a small controlled setting, whereas the latter examines more general behavior by using self-reporting questionnaires or (potentially) structured interviews. Both have inherent limitations.
Computers can, however, record and analyze vast quantities of information at a fast speed – and in ways that traditional methods are unable to. This makes them powerful new tools for psychologists, opening up a whole 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 experts in the field: psychologists with domain knowledge and computer scientists with the expertise to construct large-scale tracking systems and to manage and model the data that results from it.
There was no 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 two percent). This has led to a lack of psychology in the leadership of tech companies. This has led to the result that a large number of tech products fail to consider psychological aspects.