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 property in which a form is made up of parts similar to the whole or to one another.






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






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






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






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






6. Memory for recognizing things is better than memory for recalling things.






7. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






14. 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)






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






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






17. An original model on which something is patterned






18. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






25. 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.)






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






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






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






29. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






37. Patients experience treatment effects based on their belief that a treatment will work.






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






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






40. The use of more elements than necessary to maintain the performance of a system in the event of failure of one or more of the elements.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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