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. The debgree to which prose can be understood - based on the complexity of words and sentences.






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






3. An original model on which something is patterned






4. A process of repeating a set of operation until a specific result is achieved.






5. A tendency to interpret shaded or dark areas of an object as shadows resulting from a light source above the object.






6. The quality of system output is dependent on the quality of system input.






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






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






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






10. The ratio of relevant to irrelevant information in a display. The highest possible signal- to- noise ratio is desirable in design.






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






12. A strategy for managing information complexity in which only necessary or requested information is displayed at any given time.






13. A point of physical or attentional entry into a design. (Minimal Barriers - Points of Prospect - Progressive Lures)






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






15. As the flexiblity of a system increases - its usability decreases.






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


17. 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






18. Teh act of copying properties of familiar objects - organisms - or environments in order to realize specifice benefits afforded by those properties.






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






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






21. A tendency to prefer faces in which the eyes - nose - lips and other features are close to the average of a population.






22. 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.






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






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






25. A technique for bringing attention to an area of text or image.






26. Pictures are remembered better than words.






27. 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?)






28. A method of creating imagery - emotions - and understanding of events through an interaction between a storyteller and an audience.






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






30. The ratio of face to body in an image that influences the way the person in the image is perceived. (High = intelligent / Low = physical)






31. Memory for recognizing things is better than memory for recalling things.






32. The time it takes to make a decision increases as the number of alternatives increases.


33. A technique that influences decision making and judgement by manipulating the way information is presented.






34. A method of managing system complexity that involves dividing large systems into multiple - smaller self- contained systems.






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






36. Successful products typically follow four stages of creation: requirements - design - development - and testing.






37. A phenomenon in which mental processing is made slower and less accurate by competing mental processes.






38. Elements that are similar are perceived to be more related than elements that are dissimilar.






39. Patients experience treatment effects based on their belief that a treatment will work.






40. The process of using spatial and environmental information to navigate to a destination.






41. A state of mental focus so intense that awareness of the 'real' world is lost - generally resulting in a feeling of joy and satisfaction.






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






43. All products progress sequentially through four stages of existence: introduction - growth - maturity - and decline.






44. 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.






45. 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.






46. The tendency for people to behave differently when they know they are being studied






47. The distressing state of thought caused by recognizing an inconsistency between behavior/thought and value/belief.






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






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 designs that help people perform optimally are often not the same as the designs that people find most desirable.