Human and Computer Interaction

Since the boom in computer technology developments in the 1970s and 1980s, the field of human factors psychology began to grow and incorporate a new subfield. This new and interesting field is called human and computer interaction, dubbed HCI. Computers, based on logical rules, demand that their human users act in logical ways in order to use them. For this reason, designers have had to rely on psychologists' knowledge of human intelligence, cognitive processes, and perception to develop programs and applications that meet their needs. The goal of the designers is to produce the software that is most user-friendly, effective, and productive, thus making them most appealing to consumers. The best designed programs will also then demand less from the manufacturers and designers in terms of product support and maintenance of the software.

As the population of computer users increased and grew more and more diverse, software designers needed to be able to appeal to large groups of distinct computer users. The users were no longer highly educated in computer languages and computer programming, but rather the common man. Their programs needed to be accessible to these populations as well. For instance, more and more programs were developed for the growing population of children using computers, a population that demanded extremely user-friendly and content-careful technology. Another population of computer users that has been growing is the disabled. These users may need special products of their own to use a regular computer, like voice recognition software for example.

Another development that led to growth and change in this subfield is the fact that today, computers are used for just about every purpose under the sun. Computers and their programs are used as devices to access information, communication tools, research vehicles, and in many instances, educators. For this reason, software designers have had new and more diverse motivations to focus on in their design. A program designed to communicate will inevitably be organized and designed differently than one designed to train or educate its users.

Here are some interesting internet sites to visit in the HCI area:

This is a homepage of a special interest group that provides a forum for ideas in the area of human and computer interaction.

This is another example of a corporate homepage that designs software that understands people.

This site is for a group that designs software for the disabled, children and other marginal populations.

This is a site that designs software with the intent to motivate and influence users.

	This is a homepage of a special interest group that provides a forum for ideas in the area of human and computer interaction.
	This is another example of a corporate homepage that designs software that understands people.
	This site is for a group that designs software for the disabled, children and other marginal populations.
	This is a site that designs software with the intent to motivate and influence users.