Psychology and Computers

At first, it might appear that computers and psychology are two separate fields. Computer scientists develop software and code algorithms that aid people in their daily lives and psychologists study human behavior and mental wellbeing. In reality, these two disciplines overlap on many levels. In fact some of the most exciting research being done in both fields is involving the fusion of computer science and psychology.

For psychological research technological advances in computer science have helped make it easier to conduct psychological tests. For instance FMRI scanners allow psychologists to identify www.rebootdata.net which parts of the brain are active during particular thoughts or actions. Online questionnaires also remove the biases that are inherent in pencil and paper surveys.

However, it’s the cooperation between computer scientists and psychologists which has truly transformed the interaction we have with technology. The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction was published in 1983 by three researchers from Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Stuart Card, Thomas Moran and Allen Newell, was one of the most significant developments in the merging.

It pushed studies of the way that humans use computers into the domain of computer science, detaching psychological methods from their human context and forcing psychologists to catch up. Branches of psychology already dealing with numerical evaluations like psychometricians found the computer science approach especially suited to their research.

Psychologists are currently working with computer scientists to create AI that will help us better understand human behaviour. Psychologists are helping to develop ethical guidelines for algorithms that can determine the risk of depression from the social media activities of a person. Psychologists are using cognitive behavior therapy in virtual reality to treat anxiety disorders and other diseases.