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 property of visual equivalence among elements in a form.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






11. 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.






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






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






14. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






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






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






19. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






36. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






46. 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.






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






48. 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.






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






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