Module: The Psychology of User Experience, Design and Human Computer Interaction

Module Specifications

Academic Year 2026 - 2027

Module Title	The Psychology of User Experience, Design and Human Computer Interaction
Module Code	PSY1120
Faculty	Science & Health	School	Psychology
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

This module synthesises psychological principles with human-computer interaction (HCI), user experience (UX) research, and human-centred design/systems thinking to empower students to apply this approach in applied settings across the public sector, industry and interdisciplinary settings. Building on core psychology and behavioural science (cognition, decision-making, social influence, cyberpsychology), students learn HCI fundamentals, user-centred research methods, prototyping, usability evaluation, and systems-level design for holistic experiences. Students explore these fundamentals through theoretical lectures, case studies of real-world products and services, and practical workshops applying concepts such as: Gestalt principles, Hick's Law, mental models, and the increasing role of Generative AI (GenAI) in UX research (for example, automated usability analysis and persona generation). Emphasis is placed on identifying the role of quantitative (e.g., A/B testing, analytics) and qualitative (e.g., interviews, think-aloud protocols) evaluations throughout the UX lifecycle, culminating in an industry-relevant student portfolio of UX artifacts (namely wireframes, prototypes, journey maps) to demonstrate psychologically-informed outputs. Finally, the module is framed in the context of important emerging ethical considerations to ensure the integration of safety-by-design and key regulatory frameworks throughout (namely Online Safety Codes within the EU’s Digital Services Act and the AI Act).

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify and articulate connections between core psychological principles and interdisciplinary concepts from HCI, UX research, and human-centred design
2. Demonstrate core understanding of the applicability of emerging ethical and regulatory frameworks to the Psychology of UX Design and HCI
3. Create psychologically-informed low-to-mid fidelity prototypes, journey/empathy maps, and documentation for engaging UX solutions across different systems
4. Develop e-portfolios of real world relevance combining core human-centred design principles informed by psychology
5. Understand the core methodologies and theoretical frameworks that underpin the overlap between psychology and HCI, UX and human-centred design.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	12	No Description
Group Based Workshops	8	2 hour practical workshops in weeks 3, 5, 7, 9.
Online activity	24	24 hours asychronous learning activities via Loop
Fieldwork	24	Independent portfolio CA preparation throughout semester
Independent Study	57	No Description
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	12288	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	100%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	N
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Darragh McCashin	Module Teacher

Section Breakdown
CRN	12288	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	100%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	N
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Darragh McCashin	Module Teacher

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Professional Portfolio	Modelled on industry formats, BPDT Students will complete an individual 3,000 word e-portfolio to evidence their knowledge and skills development throughout the module, with direct illustration of outputs from their practicals including psychologically-informed personas/prototypes using a range of multimedia and software.	100%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Indicative Content
Introduction to the Psychology of User Experience; HCI and human-centred design Theoretical perspectives (Perception/attention, Fitts's/Hick's Laws, cognitive bias, chunking, social influence, affordances, mental models, motivation) Applied research methods I: SUS/A-B testing + implicit bias; analytics Applied research methods II: Personas/prototyping, journey mapping/nudges ‘Nothing about us without us’ - Users vs Humans and the ethics of participatory approaches Cyberpsychology and dark patterns; ‘addictive’ loops Behavioural case studies (Netflix/Spotify/Ryanair/GenAI) Multistakeholder design - understanding the role of safety/privacy/rights-by-design; regulatory considerations at national/EU level The role of portfolios in applied settings Synthesising our knowledge and skills - career options and strategies AI/behavioural UX - future directions

Indicative Reading List

Books:

John McCarthy,Peter Wright: 2007, Technology as Experience, National Geographic Books, 0, 9780262633550
Jon Yablonski: 2024, Laws of UX: Using Psychology to Design Better Products & Services, 2nd, O'Reilly Media, 0, 1098146964
Grainne Kirwan,Irene Connolly,Hannah Barton (College teacher),Marion Palmer: 2023, An Introduction to Cyberpsychology, 2nd, BPS Core Textbooks Series, 0, 0367552299

Articles:

Wright, P., & McCarthy, J.: 2008, Empathy and experience in HCI., In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems, 637-6, https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/1357054.1357156,

Other Resources

1: 2022, Designing our public services: Design principles for government in Ireland., Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.,