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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






16. 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.






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






18. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






34. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






36. 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.






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






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






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






40. The tendency to perceive objects as unchanging - despite changes in sensory input. (such as perspective - lighting - color or size)






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






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






43. 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.)






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






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






46. A technique used to asociate a stimulus with an unconscious physical or emotional response.






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






48. 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.






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






50. 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?)