The Role of Social Psychology in Human-Computer Interaction in Teaching Systems

Teaching systems—from intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) and learning management systems (LMS) to MOOCs and collaborative learning platforms—are social spaces mediated by interfaces. Between 2012 and 2021, findings across social psychology and HCI converged on four recurring levers of learner behavior: social presence, motivation and need support, social structuring (norms, identity, comparison), and affect/trust. This integrative paper synthesizes meta-analyses and high-quality empirical studies to (a) map how social-psychological constructs shape learner engagement and performance in computer-mediated instruction, (b) translate them into design principles for teaching systems, and (c) compare how these constructs play out across ITS, MOOCs, LMS discussion forums, and computersupported collaborative learning (CSCL). We conclude with a research agenda prioritizing socially adaptive interfaces, ethical learning analytics, and robust evaluation in real-world deployments