User:Seibert-Giller/sandbox/UX Psychology

UX Psychology (User Experience Psychology)  is the discipline that brings the scientific knowledge of psychology into the design  for user experiences that people have, when interacting with  different systems, products and services. The most relevant psychological disciplines that come to be applied in UX-work  are cognitive-, behavioral-, social- and neuro-psychology. These subdisciplines encompass vast empirical knowledge about human  perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, subjective experiences, motivation, brain functioning, and individual and group behaviours,  including conscious and unconscious phenomena. The implications of cognitive biases as well as the understanding of behaviour noise are also highly relevant.

All stakeholders, involved in a system, product, or service development can benefit by applying  UX Psychology knowhow:

·   They can accumulate  valid data on user needs and requirements by employing empirical methods in UX research and evaluation.

·   It enhances the quality of any design, especially by incorporating psychology of perception, attention, and awareness.

·   It enhances teamwork as well as inter and intra team communication with the means of social psychology.

Roles and Contributions of Psychologists in the UX Design process

Psychologists contribute extensively throughout a system, service or product design and development process.

The most common areas are the following:

Psychologists in UX research and evaluation

These are currently the activities in which psychologists contribute the most - from planning, designing and conducting different studies with the help of valid and effective methods (e.g. tests, interviews, observations, questionnaires, contextual inquiries) applying the quality criteria of science validity, reliability and objectivity and seeking triangulation where possible. Psychologists thereby eliminate the risk that arises, when people who are not trained in the application of social science methods apply them in a project. This risks leads to invalid (wrong and not reliable) data and consequently to false and bad business decisions.

Psychologists


 * Understand principle layers of user behaviour, thinking, decision making and emotions that always apply.
 * Analyze complex study results that enable a deeper understanding of users in a given system, service or product    context.
 * Uncover the needs, goals and motives of people, as well as their problems, worries and concerns (e.g. pain-points) in a given    system, service or product context.
 * Uncover and explain the causes of practical struggles with the usage of a product or service.
 * Derive actionable recommendations for the respective business.

Remote-testing has gained popularity in recent years. It can be conducted in a moderated or unmoderated manner, when a product's or service's Usability is being evaluated. The inclusion of a psychologist in these phases is especially valuable, because the bandwidth of observable insights will mostly only be detected by people whose knowledge on human behaviour encompasses cognition, behaviour problem solving as well as emotional aspects.

This ensures the quality of the data gathered, but also the quality of the generated insights, on which important decisions for the future of the business or product/service will be based.

Psychologists in UX design and UI design

Applying scientific knowledge about human behaviour and cognition to designs, prototypes or other artefacts that convey designs enables the early elimination of potential user errors, miscomprehensions and not wishes for behaviour. And it facilitates the implementation of a goal oriented and beneficial guidance for the user whilst working on tasks.

Under consideration of the scientific knowledge in regard to human perception, emotion, cognition and behaviour a psychologist can help:


 * structure the information/content in a way that grabs attention, when needed or is easy comprehensible and scannable for    users - determine the Information Architecture.
 * design the interaction with a product or service in a way that feels intuitive, easy or even pleasant to Users, even when    going through complex and tedious tasks - design Interaction.
 * choose the right visual language and appropriate layout that will make it not only pleasing, but also easier and more    effective to use.

Psychologists in collaboration, communication, and change processes that systems often imply.

UX Psychologists often play an important role in solving problems that are not directly connected to the design and development as such, e.g. the communication within or between teams or groups of different backgrounds and perspectives or a negative climate caused by the announcement or introduction of new working tools in an organization.

Literature

Indie Young, Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy With Human Behavior, ISBN 978-1933820064

Don Norman, The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition, ISBN 978-0465050659

Susan Weinschenk, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People ISBN 978-0136746911

Beau Lotto Deviate The Creative Power of Transforming Your Perception ISBN 978-1474601023

The Invisible Gorilla: How Our Intuition Deceives Us ISBN 978-0307459664