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






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






3. 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






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






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






6. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






18. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






33. 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)






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






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






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






37. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






39. The time required to move to a target is a function of the target size and distance to the target.


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






41. 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.






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






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






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


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






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






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






48. 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.






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






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