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. A process in which similar characteristics evolve independently in multiple systems.






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






3. A relationship between controls and their movements or effects. When th effect corresponds to the expectation - the mapping is considered to be good or natural.






4. A method of reorganizing information to make the information simpler - more meaningful and easier to remember. (ie. First Letter - Keyword - Rhyme - Feature Name)






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






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






7. Using more elements than is necessary to offset the effects of unknown variables which may cause a system failure.






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






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






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






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






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






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






14. The deliberate use of a weak element that will fail in order to protect other elements in the system from damage.






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






16. 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.






17. A method of presentation in which information is presented in descending order of importance. (Critical information presented first).






18. A diagram that describes the general pattern followed by the eyes when looking at evenly distributed - homogeneous information.






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






20. Elements that are close together are percieved to be more related than elements that are farther apart.






21. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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

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23. A method of illustrating relationships and patterns in system behaviors by representing two or more system variables in a controlled way.






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






25. 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.






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






27. A Gestalt law of organization; elements arrange in a straight line or a smooth curve are perceived as a group - and are interpreted as being more related than elements not on the line or curve.






28. 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






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






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






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






32. 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.






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






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






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






36. Adjusting parts of a device in relation to each other to create a sense of unity and cohesion.






37. A phenomenon in which perception and behavior changes as a result of personal expectations or the expectations of others. (Halo effect - Hawthorne effect - Pygmalion effect - Placebo effect - Rosenthal effect - Demand characteristics.)






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






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






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






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






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






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






44. An action or ommission of action yielding an unintended result.






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






46. 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?)






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






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






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






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