At first, it might appear that computers and psychology are two distinct fields. Psychologists study human behavior and health while computer scientists work on coding algorithms and developing software that aids people accomplish everyday tasks. But the truth is that these two fields are in many ways similar. Some of the most exciting research in both fields is being carried out by combining psychology with computer science.

Computer science has made it easier to conduct research in psychology. For example fMRI scans can help psychologists to identify which areas of the brain are active during certain thoughts or actions. Online questionnaires can eliminate the biases inherent in pen-and-paper surveys.

But it’s the interaction between computer scientists and psychologists advice that has changed the way we interact with technology. One of the most significant events of this fusion took place in 1983 when the publication of The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction by three researchers at the Palo Alto Research Center of Xerox: Stuart Card, Thomas Moran, and Allen Newell.

It brought studies of how computer users use them into the domain of computer science. This detached psychological techniques from their context in humans and forced psychologists to catch up. Psychometricians and other fields of psychology that deal with numerical evaluations have found the computer science approach to be particularly useful.

Psychologists are currently working with computer scientists to develop AI which can better understand human behavior. For instance psychologists are helping define the ethical guidelines for the creation of algorithms to predict the likelihood of a person developing depression by analyzing their social media activities. Psychologists are incorporating cognitive behavior therapy into virtual reality to treat anxiety disorders and other illnesses.