The intersection of psychology and computers is a crucial point for the development of user-centered designs and innovation in technology. 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, research in psychology relies on two main methods of collecting data: lab experiments and surveys or interviews [1]. The first focuses on a particular aspect in a small controlled setting, while the latter focuses on broader behaviors using self-reporting surveys or (potentially) structured interviews. Both suffer from inherent limitations.

Computers, however, are able to process and analyze large quantities of information at high speed in ways that conventional methods are unable to. This is why they are powerful tools for psychologists, opening up an entirely 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 consisting of psychologists with domain expertise and computer scientists with the expertise required to create large-scale systems, manage and model data.

There was a lack of collaboration in the past. For instance, Google directors have been more likely to be interested in computer and computational science (29% were interested in it), than psychology (less than 2%). This has likely resulted in psychologists not being represented in leadership at tech companies. This has meant that technology products are often unable to take psychological factors into consideration.

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