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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






10. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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


19. 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.






20. The tendency to see attractive people as more intelligent - competent - moral and sociable than unattractive people.






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






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






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






24. Given a choice between functionally equivalent designs - the simplest design should be selected.


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






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






27. The time required to move to a target is a function of the target size and distance to the target.


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






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






30. 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.






31. 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.






32. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






40. The level of control provided by a system should be related to the proficiency and experience levels of the people using the system.






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






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






43. The relative ease with which a destination - idea - or concept may be reached.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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