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






2. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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






6. 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.






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






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






9. Designs should help people avoid errors and minimize the negative consequences of errors when they do occur.






10. A tendency to assume that a system that works at one scale will also work at a smaller or larger scale. (2 kinds: Load assumptions and Interaction assumptions)






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






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






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






15. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






28. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






39. 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?)






40. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






49. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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