The Design of Everyday Things Flashcards
Who is the author of The Design of Everyday Things?
Don Norman
Why do we need to know the human mind?
Because things are designed to be used by people, and without a deep understanding of people, the designs are apt to be faulty, difficult to use, difficult to understand.
Conscious attention is necessary to learn most things, but after the initial learning, continued practice and study, sometimes for thousands of hours over a period of years, produces what psychologists call “_______”.
overlearning
What is Declarative memory?
Memory for factual information
What is procedural memory?
Recalling the activities performed to open the door
T or F: Cognition and emotion cannot be separated.
True.
Cognitive thoughts lead to emotions: emotions drive cognitive thoughts.
The brain is structured to act upon the world, and every action carries with it expectations, these expectations drive emotions.
Cognition attempts to make sense of the world: emotion assigns _____
value
The ______ system determines whether a situation is safe or threatening, whether something that is happening is good or bad, desirable or not.
Emotional system
Cognition provides _______: emotion provides value judgments.
understanding
A human without a working emotional system has difficulty _____ ____. A human without a cognitive system is ______.
making choices. dysfunctional
We use logic and reason after the fact, to …
justify our actions
What is the most basic level of processing in the brain?
Visceral
Visceral is sometimes referred to as the?
Lizard Brain
The visceral system allows us to respond quickly and subconsciously, without _____ _____ or _____.
conscious awareness or control
What are the three levels of processing?
Reflective, Behavioral, Visceral
The basic biology of the visceral system minimizes it ability to learn? Visceral learning takes place primarily by what?
Sensitization or desensitization through such mechanisms as adaptation and classical conditioning.
Is the visceral response fast or slow?
It is fast and automatic.
Are visceral responses conscious or subconscious?
Subconscious
For designers, the visceral response is about what?
Immediate perception (the pleasantness of a mellow, harmonious sound or the jarring, irritating scratch of fingernails on a rough surface.
This has nothing to do with how usable, effective or understandable the product is.
It is all about attraction or repulsion.
Great designers use their aesthetic sensibilities to drive these visceral responses.
An easy task, far below our skill level, makes it so easy to meet expectations that there is no challenge. Very little or no processing effort is required, which leads to
apathy or boredom
A difficult task, far above our skill, leads to
so many failed expectations that it causes frustration, anxiety, and helplessness
When does a flow state occur?
When the challenge of the activity just slightly exceeds our skill level, so full attention is continually required.
The flow requires that the activity be neither too ____ nor too _____ relative to our level of skill.
too easy nor too difficult
What is the Conspiracy of Silence?
Where feelings of guilt and helplessness among people are kept hidden.
