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






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






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






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






6. 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.






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






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






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






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






11. 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)






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






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


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






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






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






17. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






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






21. 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.






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






23. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






26. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






35. 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.






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






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






38. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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