Liberate Game Psychologists From UXR
One of gaming's greatest and ongoing tragedies is the misuse of psychologists as survey runners for UXR. Eric Seufert once quipped that game companies are not using armies of PhD psychologists to optimize Skinner boxes -- and that is the problem.
Even short of Skinner boxes or randomization, core UI and UX design still sits far from psychologists. They get relegated to surveys rather than onboarding, interface hierarchy, and progression pacing. Flow state is not just a designer's instinct; it is a cognitive problem that should be right up a psychologist's alley.
We have a buffet of levers where PhD psychologists could shape outcomes: the hedonic treadmill, spaced repetition, working memory limits, and the way players form expectations and reference points. These are not niche curiosities. They are central to retention, satisfaction, and monetization.
In a career first for me, I am not dunking on psychologists. They did not choose the survey corner. This is on senior executives who do not understand how to employ them, given the centripetal force of how they have been deployed before.
I pray for the day of PhD game psychologist liberation.