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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






10. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






13. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






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






19. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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


39. 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.






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






41. 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?)






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


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






44. There are three ways to organize materials to support a load or to contain and protect something: Mass structures - frame structures - and shell structures.






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






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






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






48. 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






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






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