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 tendency to prefer environments with unobstructed views (prospects) and areas of concealment and retreat (refuges).






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






14. 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.






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






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






17. 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.)






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






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






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






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. 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.






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






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






25. The debgree to which prose can be understood - based on the complexity of words and sentences.






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






27. 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.






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






29. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






46. A technique for preventing unintended actions by requiring verification of the actions before they are performed.






47. Pictures are remembered better than words.






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






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






50. A relationship between variables in a system where the consequences of an event are fed back in order to modify the event in the future.