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 relationship between variables in a system where the consequences of an event are fed back in order to modify the event in the future.






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






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






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






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






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






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






8. 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)






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






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






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






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


13. 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?)






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






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






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






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






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


19. 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.






20. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






28. 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






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






30. 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.






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






32. 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.






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






34. A method of managing system complexity that involves dividing large systems into multiple - smaller self- contained systems.






35. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






43. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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






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






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






49. 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.






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