Banish Your Imposter: Where UX Research Began, Where It's Going, and Why You Belong
summary
Claims that psychology underpins UX research with concrete histories: WWII cockpit shape coding changes eliminate flap/landing-gear confusion and crash errors, and Bell Labs’ human‑factors work moves telephony from rotary pulses toward modern interfaces. Contemporary cases show surprising backgrounds produce usable superpowers — photography for crisp visuals, journalism+sociology for mixed methods, earth‑systems for systems thinking, counseling for deep empathy. Warns that expecting a single person to be a full‑stack, lone, tool‑obsessed researcher fails; advocates team expertise, gradual specialization, and democratized research.
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chapters (16)
- 0:00Introduction and welcome
- 0:44Origins of UX research
- 5:43Taylor and early human factors
- 6:47Chapanis and cockpit safety
- 10:02Carlin and rotary phones
- 13:53Psychology in UX research
- 14:39Present-day researchers' paths
- 15:20Bazard Saani's creativity
- 17:07Sam Ladner's mixed methods
- 20:16Cla Meny's Earth Systems
- 23:06Meula Nike's diverse background
- 24:53Vivian Castillo's empathy
- 27:03Future of UX research
- 28:06Barriers to belonging
- 31:01Diversity and teamwork
- 34:33Your unique contribution
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