ABSTRACT
Psychologists have been practising engineering psychology long before it became a recognised discipline. For example, between 1988–1994 the Safer Cities programme implemented over 3,000 crime prevention schemes in 20 cities in England. The large-scale evaluation of the programme’s impact on crime, fear etc demonstrates how a psychologist applying his skill in engineering psychology to implement the evaluation design using a geographical information system. This includes rapid prototyping of user interface design and system development within the dual requirements of both human-computer interaction and software engineering disciplines. Many psychologists working in a similar situation are called hidden psychologists as they are neither identified as psychologists in their teams nor recognized as psychologists by their own professional societies. It is hoped that this paper will open the debate about the role of engineering psychology within the profession, and argue the case for its recognition by the Society.
