![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/psychtech-800x540-1.jpg?resize=744%2C419&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve seen it in movies and read it in books \u2014 the doomsday tale of robots reaching a supreme level of intelligence as they overtake humans as the planet\u2019s dominant force.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a fantasy. (For now, at least, so plan accordingly.) In the real world, our lives are often made significantly better because of technological advances and the ways in which we interact with computers.<\/p>\n
This is increasingly true in the field of psychology, one in which industry professionals and the people who benefit from psychological services use technology to conduct business and communicate.<\/p>\n
Christopher Sanchez, Ph.D., is an associate professor in Oregon State University\u2019s School of Psychological Science<\/a>. He\u2019s a researcher and expert in human-computer interaction, a rapidly expanding field that seeks to understand how humans design, use and consume technology.<\/p>\n Human-computer interaction \u201cexplores how best to implement technology in such a way that humans can safely and effectively use said technology to make their lives better,\u201d Sanchez says. It\u2019s a field that impacts everything, from the development of smartphones to the delivery of telehealth services to the design of online learning environments and beyond.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s one of many reasons why earning a psychology bachelor\u2019s degree online with Oregon State<\/a> can help you build a career that positively impacts the lives of others by combining the skills of psychology with the tools of technology.<\/p>\n \u201cCareer outlooks in this area are booming,\u201d Sanchez says of human-computer interaction. \u201cI don\u2019t think it is unfair to say that technology has really permeated our everyday lives to such a degree that it is somewhat difficult to imagine life without it.\u201d<\/p>\n The professor is careful to note that technology has not necessarily \u201ctransformed\u201d the field of psychology. As one example, the fundamentals of counseling do not change whether it\u2019s conducted in person or online. It \u201crelies heavily on a fruitful dialogue between patient and provider\u201d no matter the delivery method, he says.<\/p>\n What technology does \u2014 and will continue to do with increased sophistication \u2014 is make essential aspects of our lives including health care services more accessible. For people who want to pursue a degree in psychology or a minor in user experience research online<\/a>, that creates an exciting array of professional possibilities.<\/p>\n Sanchez shared some thoughts on what this looks like in practice.<\/p>\n \u201cPatients are likely more comfortable in their own home and also likely to be more open when not in the same physical room as another person, especially when discussing taboo or difficult-to-talk-about topics. I am sure there are likely some downsides to this method of delivery (e.g., difficulty in building rapport between the doctor and patient), but at least in my mind the benefits far outweigh the costs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is very exciting and has significant implications for access, especially for underserved populations. Now anyone with an internet connection and rudimentary hardware \u2014 even just a phone \u2014 can receive services where they might not be able to otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNowadays, records can be shared instantaneously and securely to whomever might need to see them, and the technology within the medical facilities is advancing at an exponential pace. \u2026\u00a0Designing devices that allow nurses and doctors to more effectively diagnose patient status and deliver appropriate interventions not only makes their jobs easier, but it also makes health care safer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI tell my students this all the time: Just because we can design a feature or product, it doesn\u2019t mean we necessarily should.\u00a0We instead have to step back and focus on making changes and designs that lead to improvements in user performance and acceptance, and not just do things we as designers think are \u2018cool.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Explore other careers available to psychology graduates<\/a> to get informed. Then, learn more about earning your bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology online with Oregon State Ecampus.<\/p>\n <\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>Our lives are often made better because of technological advances and the ways in which we interact with computers. This is increasingly true in the field of psychology, one in which industry professionals and the people who benefit from psychological services use technology to conduct business and communicate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6,9,678,8],"tags":[75,640,96,644],"class_list":["post-1906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-faculty","category-faculty-and-programs","category-students","tag-college-of-liberal-arts","tag-health-and-human-science","tag-psychology","tag-user-experience-research"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/psychtech-800x540-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-uK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1716,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/best-online-psychology-degree\/","url_meta":{"origin":1906,"position":0},"title":"Oregon State online psychology bachelor\u2019s degree ranked #1 in the U.S.","author":"Ecampus News","date":"January 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State University\u2019s expertise in delivering a liberal arts education online is well-documented, and now that reputation has been bolstered even further \u2014 thanks to U.S. News & World Report ranking OSU No. 2 on its list of Best Online Bachelor\u2019s in Psychology Programs for the second straight year.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Woman taking notes on clipboard while talking to a young child.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/ug-psychology-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/ug-psychology-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/ug-psychology-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/ug-psychology-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2634,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/what-can-you-do-with-a-psychology-degree\/","url_meta":{"origin":1906,"position":1},"title":"What can you do with a psychology degree?","author":"Carly Fredericks","date":"August 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Explore career options for a psychology bachelor's degree. The \"Swiss Army Knife of degrees,\" the number of options available to psychology graduates might surprise you.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ecampus psychology graduate, Karen Baek sits at a table, working at her laptop.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Karen-Baek-6265-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Karen-Baek-6265-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Karen-Baek-6265-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Karen-Baek-6265-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1676,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/top-online-bachelors-degrees\/","url_meta":{"origin":1906,"position":2},"title":"Oregon State earns four top-five rankings for online education from U.S. News & World Report","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"January 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State University is ranked No. 4 and is among the nation\u2019s top 10 providers of online undergraduate education for the seventh straight year in a list published today by U.S. News & World Report. The No. 4 ranking of Best Online Bachelor\u2019s Programs also puts Oregon State in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A person sitting at a table and typing on a laptop, with an Oregon State University water bottle in the foreground. K-12 remote instruction resources","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/oregon-state-ecampus-student-laptop.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/oregon-state-ecampus-student-laptop.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/oregon-state-ecampus-student-laptop.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/oregon-state-ecampus-student-laptop.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2686,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/online-psychology-bachelors-program-olc-award\/","url_meta":{"origin":1906,"position":3},"title":"Oregon State psychology bachelor\u2019s program wins Online Learning Consortium\u2019s national award for excellence","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"November 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Online degree program earns praise for its quality, innovation and student and faculty satisfaction By earning her psychology bachelor\u2019s degree online from Oregon State University, Kristina Tucker not only set herself on a path to becoming a Ph.D. student, but it also helped her learn how to navigate a personal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Orange graphic with \"John R. Bourne Award for Excellence\" and \"Psychology Online Bachelor's Program\" text, featuring Oregon State University and Online Learning Consortium logos.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/OLC-2024-award-Stories-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/OLC-2024-award-Stories-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/OLC-2024-award-Stories-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/OLC-2024-award-Stories-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2206,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/best-online-degrees\/","url_meta":{"origin":1906,"position":4},"title":"Oregon State ranked top 10 nationally for best online degrees for 9th straight year","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"January 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Bolstered by the expertise of the faculty who develop and teach classes online, Oregon State has earned another top ranking from U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation\u2019s best providers of online education. OSU ranks No. 8 in the category of\u00a0Best Online Bachelor\u2019s Programs for 2023, marking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scenic image of the black entrance sign to Oregon State University with trees in the background","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/OSU-entrance-sign-2022.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/OSU-entrance-sign-2022.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/OSU-entrance-sign-2022.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/OSU-entrance-sign-2022.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":654,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/mary-ellen-dello-stritto\/","url_meta":{"origin":1906,"position":5},"title":"Getting to know Mary Ellen Dello Stritto","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"November 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It took one high school psychology class to kick-start Mary Ellen Dello Stritto's lifelong interest in how humans behave. Her educational history and subsequent career in higher education are inextricably linked to studying and educating others on that behavior. And now as the assistant director for Oregon State Ecampus Research\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mary Ellen Dello Stritto, assistant director of the OSU Ecampus Research Unit, is smiling near a bookshelf in the Valley Library.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/mary-ellen-web.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/mary-ellen-web.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/mary-ellen-web.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On the benefits of online delivery of psychological services<\/h3>\n
On the importance of telehealth availability<\/h3>\n
On technology helping to improve safety across the board<\/h3>\n
On human-computer interaction being focused on meeting the needs of users<\/h3>\n
\nRequest information<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"