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






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






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






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






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






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






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






8. A technique used to asociate a stimulus with an unconscious physical or emotional response.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






18. A property in which a form is made up of parts similar to the whole or to one another.






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






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






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






22. A technique used to modify behavior by reinforcing desired behaviors - and ignoring or punishing undesired behaviors.






23. A technique for preventing unintended actions by requiring verification of the actions before they are performed.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






32. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






45. An original model on which something is patterned






46. Repeated exposure to stimuli for which people have neutral feelings will increase the likeability of the stimuli.






47. 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.






48. 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.






49. 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.






50. 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.)