At first glance, it could appear that psychology and computers are two distinct fields. Computer scientists create software and code algorithms to help people with their everyday tasks, while psychologists study the human behavior and mental health of people. In fact, these two fields overlap on many levels. In fact, some of the most fascinating research being conducted in both fields involves the fusion of computer science and psychology.
Computer science has made it easier to conduct experiments in psychology. For example FMRI scanners allow psychologists to see what areas of the brain are active during specific thoughts or actions. Online questionnaires also remove the biases inherent in pencil and paper surveys.
The collaboration between computer scientists and psychologists has transformed the way that we interact with technology. The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction which 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 important moments in the merging.
It shifted research into how people use computers into the domain of computer science. This removed psychological methods from their human context and forced psychologists to catch up. Psychology departments that dealt with evaluations using numbers like psychometricians found the computer science approach particularly amenable to their work.
Today, psychologists are working with computer scientists in the development of AI that can help better understand human behaviour. Psychologists are helping develop ethical guidelines for algorithms that can predict depression risk based on the activity of a person’s social media. Psychologists are taking cognitive behavior therapy into virtual reality to treat anxiety disorders and other diseases.