Psychology and User Experience Design are by nature highly intertwined fields. In order to effectively design for our users we must understand their behaviors and motivations, which is something Psychologists have been studying for far longer than User Experience professionals. However, how often when we design for certain user experiences do we mindfully consider psychological factors that may contribute to how users interact with our designs? We may think in terms of tasks, or the best way of communicating a message in an easily understandable manner. We may consider high level motivations for using a product, but not necessarily what motivates people at a more micro level. Since Psychology focuses on the study of behavior, and UX focuses on changing/influencing behavior, we would benefit from developing a closer connection between the two fields and incorporating psychological concepts into our design thinking.
A new product has been launched that helps us do just that – think about how to merge psychology and design.
