What Is Human Factors Psychology?

Human Factors Psychology is a branch of psychology which, although often associated with Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology, actually involves designing equipments and arranging environments to promote safety, improve efficiency, and make things more user-friendly. Human Factors Psychology aims to design equipments that provide information easily, without interfering with the required task. It does this by choosing the appropriate sensory modality and through coding. For example, the look and feel of airplane flap controls are similar to the shape and color of the actual landing flaps. Other research applications of Human Factors Psychology include:

• Robert McCann's liquid crystal displays in space shuttle cockpits of NASA;
• Minimizing visual noise and illusions, particularly apparent motion, in airplane cockpits; and,
• Reducing other aspects of commercial flying, such as pilot fatigue, miscommunication among flight crews, anxiety level and passenger safety.