Clean Apparel: Using the User Experience to Reduce Adverse Climate Effects Through Clothing; Considerations for Implementing Autonomous Vehicles’ Behaviors

Psychology plays a crucial role in much of engineering, even if not the focus of many projects. A core tenet of human-computer interaction (HCI) is designing a system that is effective and intuitive for a user, which requires an understanding of the inner workings of the human mind. My own love for psychology is what motivated me to take a class in HCI at the University of Virginia. In this class, we moved through the process of designing an application to maximize use and utility. My group chose to design an application, Clean Apparel, targeted at reducing waste from clothing by encouraging consumers to shop cleaner and providing steps for the responsible disposal of unwanted clothes. In the same vein, using psychology to protect the environment, my Science, Technology, and Society (STS) research project discusses the assimilation of autonomous vehicles (AVs) into our transportation systems. AVs are expected to decrease emissions, which is a core factor playing into the deterioration of our Earth. My paper looks at the positive and negative effects of AVs and emphasizes/explains the importance of how we design their behavior by synthesizing previous research. In both of these projects, considering the system in which the technologies will reside was a key step in the process. Understanding how different actors will interact with technologies is crucial to designing effective and adopted systems.