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 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






8. A tendency to see people and things iwth baby- faced features as more naive - helpless - and honest than those with mature features.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






19. 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?)






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






21. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






28. 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.






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






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






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






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






33. A tendency to see objects and patterns as 3D when certain visual cues are present.






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






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






36. An original model on which something is patterned






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






38. 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.






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






40. The designs that help people perform optimally are often not the same as the designs that people find most desirable.






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






42. 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)






43. 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.






44. A tendency to prefer faces in which the eyes - nose - lips and other features are close to the average of a population.






45. 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.






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






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






48. A technique of combining many units of information into a limited number of units or chunks - so that the information is easier to process and remember.






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






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