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. 1) Physiological 2) Safety 3) Love 4) Self-Esteem 5) Self-Actualization


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






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






4. 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.






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






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






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






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






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


10. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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






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






15. A phenomenon of visual processing in which certain line orientations are more quickly and easily processed and discriminated than other line orientations.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






31. 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.






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






33. A phenomenon in which perception and behavior changes as a result of personal expectations or the expectations of others. (Halo effect - Hawthorne effect - Pygmalion effect - Placebo effect - Rosenthal effect - Demand characteristics.)






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






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






36. 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?)






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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