Cognitive Science and Behavioral Science
Understanding people is essential to studying how we interact with computers. The way our users think, perceive, behave, learn, and even how they become frustrated, can be used to inform better, more user-friendly designs and systems. For example, being aware of cognitive load (the mental memory required for processing info and completing a task) helps designers to create interfaces that are easy and intuitive to navigate.
Understanding human behavior is also essential to designing better systems and interactions. In HCI, the behavioral sciences help us to understand how people make decisions and interact with technology. Elements from behavioral sciences are used to inform our persuasive designs, encourage healthy habits or improve user engagement.
Students who want to learn more about how cognitive and behavioral sciences are applied to HCI might be interested in the following courses: