The intersection of psychology with computers is essential for advancing and design of technology with a focus on the user. However, it’s also the place where many 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 is based on two basic methods of collecting data that are lab tests and surveys or interviews [1]. The first focuses on a particular aspect in a small controlled setting, while the latter examines more general behavior by using self-reporting questionnaires or (potentially) structured interviews. Both have inherent limitations.

Computers, however, are able to store and analyze massive amounts of information at high speed, and in ways that traditional methods are unable to. This makes them 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 group comprised of psychologists with domain expertise and computer scientists with the expertise needed to construct large-scale systems, manage and analyze data.

There was no collaboration in the past. Google directors, for instance are more likely have completed studies in computational and computer sciences (29 percent) than useful link psychology (less than 2percent). This has resulted in the absence of psychology within the leadership of tech companies. This has led to the result that a lot of technology products do not take into account psychological principles.