Cognition
Process of Cognition
- Process of
understanding
- Encoding
information into memory
- Recalling
it from memory
- Giving it
meaning (significance)
Importance
- Cognition works the same in products and in buildings but the two domains have different issues. Wayfinding is the key issue in buildings wheras in products it is method of operation.
- Cognition
of products and places is directly related to previous experience and perspective
- Differences
in cognition are related to individual and group
differences, e.g. role, familiarity, other aspects of
experience
- In turn, cognition affects use, e.g. knowledge and emotions
- Some products and places
are easier to understand than others because of design
Key Terms
- Affordance
- Conceptual
model
- Situational awareness
Affordances
- Communication
of function
- Knowledge
"in the world"
- Body fit,
e.g. handle, handrail, push plate
- Obvious
motion, e.g. push button, toggle switch
- Perceptual
cues, e.g. construction, visual access
- Previous
experience, e.g. auto door sensor
Conceptual
Model
- Knowledge
"in the head"
- Mental
representation of how things work
- Heavily
based on previous experience, e.g. remote control
conventions, street numbering system
- Can be
reinforced by affordances - knowledge in the world
- Instruction
manuals - information is not in the world or in the head
Situational Awareness
- Knowing
the status of the world around us
- Uses both memory and available
information
- Relies
heavily on conceptual models - expectations
- Critical where fast decision making and action are needed
Some Problems
with Poor Cognition
- Impedes
action and communication
- Impedes
exploration and use (involvement)
- Fear of
unknown or negative emotional content - avoidance
- Disorientation
- Inappropriate foreground/background
reversal
- Inappropriate
levels of exposure to information
Designing to Improve Interaction (D. Norman)
- Provide rich, complex and natural signals
- Be predictable
- Provide a good conceptual model
- Make the output understandable
- Provide continual awareness, without annoyance
- Exploit natural mappings to make interaction understandable and effective
Two Common Problems
- Gulf of execution - do
available actions correspond to intentions?
- Gulf of evaluation - can
one understand the state of the system?
Modifying Factors
Cultural Differences
Aging
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