How a major in Neuroscience relates to a career in UX Design
What I learned majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience and why this relates to UX
One of the great things about the UX field is that designers come from diverse backgrounds, each contributing something unique to their respective roles. Designers have academic backgrounds in fields such as psychology, anthropology, economics, sociology, and much more. I believe it is actually advantageous in many ways to have a background in a subject that doesn’t directly pertain to design.
Initially, I was a bit skeptical about how exactly my major in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience would boost my knowledge of UX. However, I quickly found that it was actually the perfect supplement to my personal learnings of UX. Here are a few ways it is related:
1. Understanding How Humans Behave and Make Choices
“Pay attention to what users do, not what they say.”
— Jakob Nielsen
As a UX Designer, it’s very important to know why humans make the choices they do and what prompts their actions and behavior. Through my major, I developed a deep understanding of why humans behave certain ways and how they arrive at their decisions. I not only learned about these concepts in class, but also worked as a research assistant in a judgment and decision making laboratory. I was able to interview subjects and see first-hand how they arrive at certain conclusions.
Understanding humans and their behaviors is absolutely vital to a career in UX. Without this solid foundation, our design decisions seem arbitrary and somewhat ambiguous. Developing this knowledge is not something that comes quickly and easily. It will take time and practice, through getting to know your participants, running multiple studies, and supplementing that with readings and lectures on the practices of cognitive psychology and neuroscience.
It’s crucial to not just know what decisions humans make, but why they make those decisions and the underlying mechanisms behind them. I was fortunate enough to learn about different parts of the human brain and their neuronal mechanisms, which gave me a solid grasp of how people function.
2. Empathizing with People
“Want your users to fall in love with your designs? Fall in love with your users.”
— Dana Chisnell
Empathy is a word that frequently pops up when UX is discussed. Everyone knows what it means, but not everyone knows how to employ it. The psychological aspect of my major taught me how to do just this. Through learning about the mind of humans and how they are influenced and affected, I learned how to truly empathize with them.
How can one empathize with users if one does not understand their users?
This feat is nearly impossible considering to empathize is to do just that — understand. Yet, it seems all too common that designers will create a product without first having a full grasp on the users of the product. This is why it’s important for designers to have that cognitive psychology background. Comprehending the way humans think can have a significant impact on your design process.
3. Understanding Human Brain Processes
Learning about the inner-workings of the brain and how the various structures interact also contributed to how I approach design methodologies.
One important subject to understand is human memory. When designing websites and apps, it’s key to know about the three stages of memory. It’s useful to know at what levels most processing occurs — pre-attentive and short-term memory, as well as grasping the concept of chunking.
Brain processes can help designers recognize how humans interpret properties, such as color, spatial positioning, patterns, and movement.
Conclusion
As a UX Designer, it’s important to have knowledge on the following subjects:
- Understanding how humans behave and make choices
- Empathizing with people
- Understanding human brain processes — ex. memory
Having a deep foundation in these topics can remarkably improve the overall design of a product. My major in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience has fully equipped me with the necessary tools to be an empathetic, intuitive, and curious UX designer. I hope sharing my learnings can help to highlight the benefit and importance of having a background in human behavior and the deeper processes of the brain.
And a few more quotes to leave you with…
“Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.”
— William Butler Yeats“Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.”
— Seth Godiin“People ignore design that ignores people.”
— Frank Chimero
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments. Thanks for reading! 👏👏👏
