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. 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?)






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






3. There are three ways to organize materials to support a load or to contain and protect something: Mass structures - frame structures - and shell structures.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






14. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. 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.)






23. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






31. 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.






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






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






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






35. 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.






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






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






38. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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