Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and includes many sub-fields of study such as human development, sports, health, clinical, social behavior and cognitive processes.
Many software developers don’t understand that developing software to interact properly with humans involves a whole lot of critical thinking and unforeseen interactions. Through the process, valuable insights could be deduced, anchoring on the perception of use of the software. By doing this, new improved features are implemented, and in this era, leveraging data Science and artificial intelligence.
Three cases:
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
1.) Take for example the ride-hailing platform Gokada; to build its software properly, the backend developers have to understand a bit of how the human psychology works and relate it properly to the methods of software development. Take for example, Ifeanyi has been using the Gokada system continuously and constantly for 6 months to pick a ride at 4p.m, as a software developer who understands the concept of the psychology of software development. I would incorporate two features based on data mining and artificial intelligence; one data mining to extract useful insights on continuous usage by each user and derive a pattern based on their time, locations and destinations. Then, I will incorporate algorithm to automatically contact them up and enquire if they would like to have a personal ride assigned to them or have a ride automatically come pick them up.
It could be something like this: hey it’s 5 minutes past your usual official pick up time and you still haven’t booked a ride yet today, should you send a Location so we could come pick you up, or you satisfy our curiosity and tell us why you haven’t booked a ride today? This not just only indicates that the system is smart, but also indicates deductive futuristic reasoning based on User Generated Content.
2.) We need to leverage on subscription models, and how humans perceive them. I once used an AdWords application and while filling it they offered me a lifetime bidding on keywords for a very reduced price based on subscription model. With these incentives they make more money on the long run because more people are going to subscribe to the lifetime membership platform.
3.) Gestalt perception principles. Perception is the process in which people are aware of objects and events in the external world. Perception occurs in five stages: stimulation, organization, interpretation-evaluation, memory and recall. It plays an important role in user interface related to the psychology of human interaction to software development. Imagine a simple good morning smiley, happy birthday pop-up text or reminders could go a long way in increasing the interaction and usage of a particular app. Take for example myself, due to my business nature, it got to a point where I only logged in to Facebook just to view the “birthday happening today” reminder notification.
Hence it’s imperative we understand and incorporate the concept behind the Psychology of Human Interaction to Software Development.