Test your basic knowledge |

Design Principles

Subject : engineering
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. 1) Functionality 2) Reliability 3) Usability 4) Proficiency 5) Creativity. In order for design to be successful - it must meet ppl's basic need before it can attempt to satisfy higher- level needs.






2. A technique of composition in which a medium is divided into thirds - creating aesthetic positions for the primary elements of a design.






3. Elements perceived as either figures (objects of focus) or ground (the rest of the perceptual field)






4. A phenomenon of visual processing in which certain line orientations are more quickly and easily processed and discriminated than other line orientations.






5. A preference for a particular ratio of waist size to hip size in men and women. Men prefer 0.7 in women. Women prefer 0.9 in men.






6. A phenomenon of memory in which items presented at the beginning and end of a list are more likely to be recalled than items in the middle of a list.






7. A property of visual equivalence among elements in a form.






8. The use of simplified and incomplete models of a design to explore ideas - elaborate requirements - refine specifications - and test functionality.






9. A term used to describe a set of data - that when plotted - forms a symmetrical - bell- shaped curve.






10. A tendency to see objects and patterns as 3D when certain visual cues are present.






11. A Gestalt principle of organization holding that aspects of perceptual field that move or function in a similar manner will be perceived as a unit






12. A tendency to prefer environments with unobstructed views (prospects) and areas of concealment and retreat (refuges).






13. An attribute of an object that allows people to intuitively know how to use it






14. A tendency to assume that a system that works at one scale will also work at a smaller or larger scale. (2 kinds: Load assumptions and Interaction assumptions)






15. Elements that are connected by uniform visual properties - such as color - are perceived to be more related than elements that are not connected.






16. Teachers treat students differently based on their expectations of how students will perform.






17. A method of limiting the actions that can be performed on a system.






18. The greater the effort to accomplish a task - the less likely the task will be accomplished successfully.






19. A ratio within the elements of a form - such as height to width - approximating 0.618.






20. A technique used to teach a desired behavior by reinforcing increasingly accurate approximations of the behavior.






21. The use of more elements than necessary to maintain the performance of a system in the event of failure of one or more of the elements.






22. Hierarchical organization is the simplest structure for visualizing and understanding complexity.






23. A sequence of numbers in which each number is the sum of the preceding two.






24. A phenomenon of memory in which noticeably different things are more likely to be recalled that common things. (AKA Isolation/Novelty Effect)






25. An ability to detect threatening stimuli more efficiently than nonthreatening stimuli.






26. When participants realise the aim of the study and may change their behaviour to help or disrupt the study.






27. The process of organizing information into related groupings in order to manage complexity and reinforce relationships in the information.






28. People tend to prefer savanna- like environments to other types of environments. Open areas - scattered trees - water - and uniform grassiness rather than other natural environments such as desert - jungle - and complex mtns.






29. The use of pictorial images to improve the recognition and recall of signs and controls.






30. A phenomenon of memory in which information that is analyzed deeply is better recalled than information that is analyzed superficially.






31. The visual clarity of text - generally based on the size - typeface - contrast - text block - and spacing of the characters used.






32. Beauty in design results from purity of function. Interpreted in 2 ways: A description of beauty or a prescription for beauty.






33. The usability of a system is improved when its status and methods of use are clearly visible.






34. A space that has territorial markers - opportunities for surveillance - and clear indications of activity and ownership.






35. There are three ways to organize materials to support a load or to contain and protect something: Mass structures - frame structures - and shell structures.






36. The usability of a system is improved when similar parts are expressed in similar ways.






37. A relationship between variables in a system where the consequences of an event are fed back in order to modify the event in the future.






38. Designs should help people avoid errors and minimize the negative consequences of errors when they do occur.






39. 1) Physiological 2) Safety 3) Love 4) Self-Esteem 5) Self-Actualization


40. Tendency to form an overall positive impression of a person on the basis of one positive characteristic






41. There are five ways to organize information: Category - time - location - alphabet - and continuum.






42. A tendency to interpret ambiguous images as simple and a complete unit - versus complex and incomplete. (Gestalt principle of perception).






43. People understand and interact with systems and environments based on mental representations developed from experience.






44. The tendency to perceive objects as unchanging - despite changes in sensory input. (such as perspective - lighting - color or size)






45. A technique of combining many units of information into a limited number of units or chunks - so that the information is easier to process and remember.






46. The tendency for people to perform better or worse based on the expectations of another.






47. An activity will be pursued only if its benefits are equal to or greater than the costs. (ie. How much reading is too much to get the point of a message?)






48. It is often preferable to settle for a satisfactory solution - rather than pursue an optimal solution.






49. A tendency to see people and things iwth baby- faced features as more naive - helpless - and honest than those with mature features.






50. The act of measuring certain sensitive variable in a system can alter them - and confound the accuracy of the measurement.