Understanding Psychological Factors in Design
Consider you’re tasked with designing the ultimate ergonomic office chair, one that boosts productivity and ensures comfort for long work hours. What would you prioritize? The chair’s texture? Its ability to support different body types? Or perhaps how its design impacts the user’s mood and energy levels? These considerations fall under the domain of psychological factors in design, which are vital because they shape how users interact with products, systems, and environments. In this section, we’ll explore how sensory data is collected, how human information systems are modeled, and how environmental factors and user perception influence the design process.
Collecting Sensory Data in Design
What Is Sensory Data?
Sensory data encompasses the information we gather through our senses like sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Designers rely on this data to understand how users experience products and environments. For example, when designing a smartphone, sensory factors such as screen brightness (sight), button texture (touch), and notification sounds (hearing) are carefully calibrated to enhance usability and satisfaction.
Methods of Data Collection
To gather sensory data, designers use both qualitative and quantitative methods. Let’s examine these approaches:
- Qualitative Methods: These methods focus on subjective user experiences and emotional responses. Examples include:
- Interviews: Asking users how they feel about a product’s texture, sound, or appearance.
- Focus Groups: Facilitating discussions among small groups to uncover shared sensory reactions and emotional feedback.
- Observations: Watching users interact with a product in real-world or controlled settings to identify usability challenges.
- Quantitative Methods: These methods involve measurable data to ensure objectivity. Examples include:
- Surveys: Asking users to rate their experiences, such as comfort levels on a 1–10 scale.
- Sensor Measurements: Using tools like decibel meters to measure sound levels or light meters to assess brightness.
When designing a children’s toy, interviews might capture how children describe its texture (qualitative), while a thermometer could measure the toy’s surface temperature to ensure safety (quantitative).
Combining qualitative and quantitative methods gives designers a well-rounded understanding of user needs and preferences.
Modeling Human Information Systems
How Do Humans Process Information?
The human information-processing system operates like a flowchart. Information from the environment (stimuli) enters through sensory organs (input), is interpreted by the brain (processing), and results in an action (output). For example, when you hear a fire alarm (stimulus), your brain recognizes the sound as a warning, prompting you to evacuate (action).
Using Flow Diagrams in Design
Designers use flow diagrams to map how users process information when interacting with products. For instance, when designing a mobile phone interface:
- Input: The user sees the phone’s home screen.
- Processing: The user decides which app to open.
- Output: The user taps the app icon.
These diagrams help designers identify potential breakdowns in the user experience, such as unclear icons or delayed response times.
Ignoring the central processing stage can lead to usability issues, as designers may assume users will instinctively understand how to interact with a product.
Evaluating Breakdowns in Human Information Processing
Causes of Processing Failures
Breakdowns can occur at any stage of the information-processing system:
- Input Stage: Sensory inputs may not align with user capabilities, such as text that’s too small to read.
- Central Processing Stage: Overload or conflicting information can confuse users, leading to errors.
- Output Stage: Physical limitations, such as reduced dexterity, may hinder task completion.
Consider an elderly user operating a touchscreen device. Poor eyesight (input issue) and slower reaction times (output issue) could lead to frustration and errors.
Impacts on Usability
Processing failures can result in:
