Yes, there is a big difference. I didn't say they were the same, but just as there are good graphic designers without design degrees, good developers without comp-sci degrees, and good neurosurgeons without...well erm...anyway, there are good interaction designers without psych degrees.
I don't argue the point that psych-degreed professionals lend credibility to our practice. I countered the notion that artists without psych degrees are solely in the "creative realm" and have no understanding of psychology. I don't think Lucy was trying to say that, but if she was I felt it needed a counter-point. To the credibility point, I base the majority of my design decisions on credible evidence from careful user studies, 15 years experience working with people and their interactions with computers, and sound, supported research when needed (from psychology, no less). In this forum, I used the shorthand "I can empathize" because I'm not justifying a design decision, I'm responding to a post. The idea that you have to have a psychology degree to make sound design decisions is a little silly. As a whole, our credibility is measured by the quality and effectiveness of our work - I get paid (well) for that, and not for my contribution to the credibility of my profession. I also agree with you that most of the usability/human factors folks I know have a strong psychology education. Bryan http://www.bryanminihan.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Eva Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 10:40 AM To: IxDA Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] "Design" in Interaction Design? Bryan, with all due respect, I think there is a big difference between the 'ability to empathize with human behavior' and a structured background in psychology, especially the cognitive side. What has bothered me about the Nielsen thread is the patronizing attitude that graphic designers have special magical skills that the rest of us could never understand, while the user experience people have the easy job of testing and maybe some understanding of pop psychology that's quite commonsense to begin with. I think that what we need to maintain our credibility as professionals are solid arguments for why we do (or dare I say why we design) things a certain way, and arguments like 'I can empathize with users' or 'I have the magic touch' just don't cut it. Lucy, to answer your question, in my experience, a pretty large percentage of human factors professionals (many of whom do work as IAs and interaction designers, as well as user researchers) have psychology in their background. It is probably one of the four most common paths to the profession - the other being programming, graphic design, and documentation. -eva ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
