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






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






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






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






5. 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.






6. 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






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






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






9. 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.)






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






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






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






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






14. A technique used to teach a desired behavior by reinforcing increasingly accurate approximations of the behavior.






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






16. 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.






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






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






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






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






21. 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.






22. 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.






23. An original model on which something is patterned






24. 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?)






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






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






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






28. 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.






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






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






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






41. 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.






42. A tendency to prefer faces in which the eyes - nose - lips and other features are close to the average of a population.






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






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






45. The tendency for people to perform better or worse based on the expectations of another.






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






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






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






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






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