Careers in Human Factors Psychology

Quick Links to Subsections on this Page
Introduction	Education
Brief History	Employment
Important Terms	Learning More
Subfields	Outlook
A Typical Day	Summary
Pros and Cons	Acknowledgments

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Introduction

HUMAN FACTORS PSYCHOLOGY combines psychology and product design in ways that we don't usually connect. In fact, psychology has changed the field of product design in many interesting ways. Psychologists bring to the design table their knowledge of how people perceive products and themselves, how they process those perceptions, and how people then behave. These psychologists use their knowledge to create the experience that you have when you interact with any product or man-made artifact that you use in daily life. They apply their knowledge of a person's cognitive processes to the design of a product, from its shape, its function, how it is properly used, its colors, its look, even to its feel. The goal of applying this knowledge is to appeal to our sense of identity, to guide users in how to use particular products, to prevent foreseeable misuse, and to give consumers the best possible experience with the product.

A Brief History

Though the field of human factors psychology is relatively new, the spirit of the discipline has been alive for millenia. When we look at our most ancient human artifacts, we can see that the makers had in mind the prospective use of the object and its user. They even seemed to make clear, with the shape of the tool, the exact use intended for the tool. In addition to this, with the decoration and form of some of these artifacts, it is clear that these people had in mind the symbolic value of the products that they made. As the needs of these ancient peoples changed, so did the design of their tools, showing us that even then, these people had a rudimentary understanding of product design and psychology.

Fast forward then, to World War II, when the industrial revolution took us by storm and products were being mass produced in factories. During this period, many products were produced for the war, including complicated military equipment. Two pieces of this were distinct from earlier times, distinctions that led to human factors psychology. First, the industrial revolution obviously changed the face of production. Second, many lives and the cause of the war depended upon the proper use of these mass-produced products.

Many failures that resulted in many deaths and/or expensive damaged equipment were a result of predictable human error. These human factors errors were mistakes that psychologists could predict based on the design of the equipment. At this point, psychologists were recruited to apply their knowledge of cognition and perception to better design of communication systems, instrument dials, and control layouts in aircrafts and tanks. From this point on, psychologists became more and more involved in the design of products, war related and not, and the field we now know of as human factors psychology evolved.

Important Terms and Definitions

*Some Important Terms in Human Factors Psychology*
	Human/Computer Interaction	In this relatively new subfield, psychologists apply their knowledge of cognition and perception to design easy to use computer hardware as well as software applications.
	Task Analysis	This is when a human factors psychologist breaks a task into subtasks, identifying average times and frequent errors.
	Ergonomics	This area involves equipment design for the workplace intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort.
	User Profiles	Different age groups, genders, and socioeconomic status may be identified by human factors psychologists in order to target products and identify possibly unintended uses.
	Focus Groups	This is a method by which human factors psychologists obtain prospective user feedback about a product's design in the early design stages.

Some Interesting Subfields

*Some Interesting Subfields Within Human Factors Psychology*
	Human and Computer Interaction	This is the study of how humans interact with computers, with the intent of improving computer applications and hardware designs.
	Error Prevention	This is the study of human error and its predictability, for the purpose of preventing errors through good design.
	Product Design	This subfield has to do with human factors psychologists applying their understanding of cognition, perception, and symbolic value to product design.
	Ergonomics	This is the study of work environments and how to get the environment to be most conducive to productivity.
	Human Factors in the Government and Military	One arena in which many opportunities exist for human factors professionals is in the government and military.

A Typical Day Practicing Human Factors Psychology

What actually fills the day of a human factors psychologist? First they research a product in depth, seeking all information about its use, manufacture, and potential users. They then create user profiles, detailing the most likely groups to use a product. They note the size and cognitive trends of that demographic group and what that information may mean for a product's development. For example, women tend to have a shorter reach and smaller hands than men, and a product intended for a woman to use would need to account for these differences. Another important part of the process is task analysis, whereby the professional analyzes the task, breaking it into smaller pieces. This can help to notice important needs of the user.

After a product is designed in its preliminary stage, then human factors psychologists go out into the real world and do field observations and interviews. Field observations involve watching people use the product or a similar one, noting difficulties in design and environmental influences. Interviews come next, when the professional talks to the people about their experience of using the product. Did they find the camera easy to use? What confused them about its buttons? Other ways of polling potential users might be questionnaires and focus groups. A focus group would entail inviting to a laboratory some potential users of the product and having them use the product. Their opinions and experiences would then be noted and discussed. All through the above tasks, a human factors psychologist is keeping meticulous records of findings.

Pros and Cons of a Career in Human Factors Psychology

Before choosing this career, a student must decide if it fits with their own preferred working style. Not everything will fit for everyone, but hopefully the pros or cons will seem more fitting, helping you to narrow your search.

*Some Potential Attractions of Careers in Human Factors Psychology*
	Making a Difference	Making tasks safer and working more manageable for others can be very rewarding.
	Research	If you enjoy research and the investigative process, this may very well be the career for you.
	Applying Psychology in an Abstract Way	If people and their psychological problems frustrate you, and you work better in an investigative capacity, this might be the career for you.
	Design	This application of psychology allows for much creativity in exploring human artifacts and artistic or stylistic design.
	Flexibility	This specialization can be applied to many far-reaching disciplines such as medicine, design, computers, architecture, engineering, and military.

*Some Potential Drawbacks of Careers in Human Factors Psychology*
	Not Much Personal Focus	This job does not allow for much one-to-one therapeutic interaction, and if that is what draws you to psychology, this may not be the career for you.
	Legal and Monetary Motives	Many organizations have as their focus saving money, making more money, and avoiding legislation. Though the results are helpful, the motives may bother some people.
	Research	If research tasks are not your forte, this would clearly not be the job for you. Many opportunities in this field are experimental in nature.
	Burnout	Though this job does not entail the stress of dealing with patients daily, researching product after product can become repetitive and tedious.
	People as Machines	This job requires that you see human beings somewhat as machines. They have cognitive and perceptual capabilities and limitations that contribute to their research value.

Education and Training for Careers in Human Factors Psychology

NEEDED SKILLS, ABILITIES, and KNOWLEDGE: Professionals in this field must be full of analytical and critical skills to help dissect research. They must be able to easily see things from another's perspective in order to anticipate their behavior and interactions with a product. They must be highly adaptable and flexible as this career is rapidly growing and changing. They need to be able to learn about new things quickly and apply that knowledge well; often the field in which they apply their knowledge of psychology is not one of their own expertise (e.g., medicine). They must have an in depth understanding of a human's cognitive and perceptual patterns and capabilities. They also must be able to work with teams of other researchers well, and also with clients who may not always like what the research means for their company. Communications skills are an absolute must.

OPTIONS AND PAY RANGES WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE: Unfortunately, a graduate with a bachelor's degree in psychology would not be able to work directly in this field.

OPTIONS AND PAY RANGES WITH A MASTER'S DEGREE: With a masters degree in human factors or a related field, job opportunities dramatically increase. Usually masters programs focus on one specific application of the area, like ergonomics or computer usability for instance.

Some of the likely job titles are human factors engineer, research assistant, and ergonomic consultant. These masters level candidates are making from $28,000 to $60,000 in salary (1993 figures), with the median being about $41,300. If that individual is working with a product or a corporation, the salaries are more in the $40,000 to $45,000 range. Someone working in a research position would be likely to make less (e.g., about $35,000 to $40,000). Some people with more experience in this field, though, make as much as $60,000 to $83,700, depending on their experience and job title.

*Some Terminal Master's Degree Programs for Pursuing a Career in Human Factors Psychology*
	Master of Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University	This is a twelve month, interdisciplinary program started in 1995 with an emphasis in programming and computer interface design.
	Masters of Science in Ergonomics at Loughborough University	This program has extensive laboratories and is recognized by the Ergonomics Society, which is affiliated with the International Ergonomics Association.
	Master of Arts in Psychology-Human Factors at the Catholic University of America	This program is intended to prepare students for applied positions in research settings, and has each student choose from a variety of minors.
	Master of Science in Human Factors and Systems at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University	This program prepares students for a potential Ph.D. program or immediate employment. It prepares practitioners to work at all stages of development and maintenance of systems, mostly product design as applied to aviation.
	Master of Science in Cognitive Human Factors at Florida Institute of Technology, School of Aeronautics	This program emphasizes the use of cognitive, physiological, and engineering theory to implement more effective human-machine interactions in the industry.

OPTIONS AND PAY RANGES WITH A DOCTORAL DEGREE: In the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology's 1997 Income and Employment survey, four human factors professionals were included. Although it is not clear whether their doctoral degrees were in industrial/organizational psychology or in human factors psychology, they did indicate that they worked "primarily in the implementation of human factors design and systems." Of this very small sample, the average income was $134,000.

Other than this limited and questionable information, we know, from the American Psychological Association's 1997 survey, that the average salary for doctoral-level psychologists in research jobs was $50,000, and in research administration, the average salary was $70,000. In the category of administration of applied psychology, the average income was $83,000.

*Some Doctoral Degree Programs for Pursuing a Career in Human Factors Psychology*
	Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University	This newer program has a strong interdisciplinary approach. They predict that all students accepted will be awarded a Graduate Fellowship, covering full tuition and living allowance.
	Ergonomics (Human Factors Psychology) at North Carolina State University	This program is with both the Department of Psychology and the Department of Industrial Engineering. Students usually function in apprentice-like positions with faculty .

Employment Resources for Human Factors Psychology

A person interested in employment in this area can access many general resources for information. First, check out West Chester University's Career Center, and/or other university's career centers. Most are posted on the web. Next, check your yellow pages for design firms, or ergonomics consultants. Calling a human being can be very helpful, and they can often direct you to a more informed source. They can also tell you how they like what they do. In the following table are some more specific resources:

*Some Resources for Exploring Careers and Career Prospects in Human Factors Psychology*
	Ergo World's employment website	This site lists interesting job opportunities and their requirements in human and computer interaction, ergonomics, and human factors.
	Human Factors and Ergonomics Society's job placement page	This page lists job openings, allows resume posting, and has a job searching function to help you research employment in this area.
	The Job Bank of Human Computer Interaction Resource Network	This is a bank of available jobs in the human and computer interaction field. It has mostly computer based opportunities.

Learning More About Human Factors Psychology

This field is growing in leaps and bounds. Information is readily available. Internet searches result in large numbers of graduate programs, the directors of which can be very helpful. Consultant firms and organizations can also be contacted for conversations about the field, as well as their web pages can be very informative. Searching the internet for human factors or ergonomics will result in multitudes of informative web sites. Here are some of the most helpful sites about this field:

*Some General Resources for Learning More about Human Factors Psychology*
	APA's Division 21	This is the American Psychological Association's division on Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology. It lists events, as well as career opportunities and publications.
	Usernomics	This very informative site has links and information on human and computer interaction, ergonomics and human factors, safety, and more.
	Ergo World	This is a meta site for all types of information on human and computer interaction, ergonomics, human factors, etc.

Outlook

With advances in technology expected to accelerate, and with access to this technology ever widening, the options within this field are growing. The field has continually grown and expanded since its birth, and there will be more to come. As products continue to get more complex, and more technologically involved, the needs for user-friendly designers will definitely increase. As we continue to rely on computers, their programs, and the internet, human and computer interaction specialists and designers will be in high demand.

Summary

The field of human factors psychology, introduced as a means for designing safer and more effective war machines, has grown exponentially to include everyday products, work environments, and computers. Professionals study humans, their behaviors with a product, their cognitive and perceptual capabilities and limitations, and then apply this to the fields of design, manufacture, and production. They do a lot of research and prediction work with statistical procedures. If research, design, and problem solving appeal to a student, this career deserves some further investigation. It can be applied in various settings, and education in one of those areas can be helpful for entrance into the field. For instance, a background in computer programming, industrial engineering, industrial/organizational psychology, medical technology, and research is very helpful.

Acknowledgments

This page was created by Jill Horigan as a project for a Senior Seminar in Psychology (PSY400) class taught by Dr. Arvid J. Bloom at West Chester University in Spring of 2000. The author is particularly grateful for the assistance of Dr. Stefani Yorges.