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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. Given a choice between functionally equivalent designs - the simplest design should be selected.


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






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






25. 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.






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






27. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






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






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






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






33. 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.






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






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






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






37. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






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






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






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






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






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






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


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






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






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






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






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






49. 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






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