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


2. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






18. An original model on which something is patterned






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






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






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






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






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


24. 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.






25. 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.






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






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






28. A process of repeating a set of operation until a specific result is achieved.






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






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






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






32. A phenomenon of memory in which items presented at the beginning and end of a list are more likely to be recalled than items in the middle of a list.






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






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






35. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






45. A property of visual equivalence among elements in a form.






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






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






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






49. 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.)






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