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






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






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






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






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






6. Tendency to perceive a set of individual elements as a single - recogniable pattern - rather than multiple - individual elements.






7. A tendency to see objects and patterns as 3D when certain visual cues are present.






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






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






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






11. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






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






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






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






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






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


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






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






21. 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?)






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






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






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






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






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






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






28. A tendency to prefer environments with unobstructed views (prospects) and areas of concealment and retreat (refuges).






29. 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.






30. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






35. 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.






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






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






38. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






44. 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.






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






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






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






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


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






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