Q8

Question 1

Consider the design of your mobile/cell phone (or any other interactive product). Briefly describe two design features which illustrate how your mobile/cell phone takes into account each of the following cognitive processes:

• Perception
• Attention
• Memory

Answer 1

Perception

Design feature 1: Picture/icon based menus on the mobile shows knowledge of perception.

Design feature 2: Bordering and spacing to group information making it easy to perceive and locate items.

Attention

Design feature 1: Using colour to highlight important information.

Design feature 2: Make information salient at appropriate stages in a task.

Memory

Design feature 1: Don’t overload users’ memories with complicated procedures for making calls.

Design feature 2. Design the interface so that it promotes recognition by using menus, icons for example.

Question 2

Define the cognitive process of attention.

Answer 2

The cognitive process of attention is the process of selecting things to concentrate on at a point in time from the range of possibilities available.

Question 3

Describe two distinct ways in which a design can take account of the limitations of human attention

Answer 3

1. Make information prominent when it needs attending to at a given stage of a task.
2. Avoid cluttering the interface with too much information.

Question 4

Which cognitive process underpins the high level design guideline to use ‘recognition rather than recall’?

Answer 4

Memory

Question 5

One finding from psychology is that ‘7 plus or minus 2’ chunks of information can be held in short-term memory at any one time. Describe one way in which this finding might be applied appropriately in
interaction design and one way in which this finding might be applied inappropriately.

Answer 5

Applied appropriately: The number applies only to retention and recall of information, and not to recognition, so this would not apply to say the use of icons, or pictures.

Applied inappropriately using this concept to put 7 items on a menu, or seven items in a list, or seven icons on a menu bar for example.

Question 6

. Describe two implications for interaction design that arise from our understanding of the cognitive process of memory.

Answer 6

1. Not to overload users memories with complicated procedures for carrying out tasks.
2. Design interfaces that stimulate recognition rather than recall.

Question 7

. Describe the “magical number 7 plus or minus 2” psychological finding.

Answer 7

One finding from psychology is that ‘7 plus or minus 2’ chunks of information can be held in short-term memory at any one time.

Question 8

Define the cognitive process of perception.

Answer 8

It is the process of obtaining information from all around us by hearing, seeing or touch.

Question 9

Describe three ways in which a designer can take account of perception.

Answer 9

1. The use of bordering and spacing are effective ways of presenting information to make it easy to locate items.
2. Any speech output should be such that users can understand the meaning.
3. Text should be legible and clear from its background.