03.Cognition: How people understand systems
Read this to prepare for class discussion
Cognitive Psychology and Design
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Universal principles of design
Advance Organizer, 18 -
from Sharp, Rogers, & Preece,
Chapter 3, Understanding users- Section 3.2, What is cognition?, 66-85
- Section 3.3.3, Information processing, 89-91
- Section 3.3.4, Distributed cognition, 91-92
- Section 3.3.5, External cognition, 92-96
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Jason Withrow's
"Cognitive Psychology & IA: From Theory to Practice"
on the contribution cognitive psychology, especially visual perception, can make to interaction design (particularly interface design).
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Optional readings which may come up in class discussions
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Payne, S. J. (2003).
Users' mental models: the very ideas.
In Carroll, J. M. (ed.), HCI Models, Theories, and Frameworks: Toward a Multidisciplinary Science, Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann, 135-156. [QA76.9.H85 C367 2003]
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Lester, P.M. (2006).
Visual Communication: Images with Messages, Thomson Wadsworth. [P93.5 .L47 2006]
Chapter 3, The eye, the retina, and the brain
Chapter 4, What the brain sees: Color, form, depth, and movement
Chapter 5, The sensual and perceptual theories of visual communication
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Additional resources
HISTORY of GRAPHIC DESIGN
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A paper by Patrick J. Lynch, entitled,
"Visual design for the user interface"
provides a history of graphical design and some psychological theories that have shaped it. Published originally in 1994, Journal of Biocommunications, 21(1):22-30
MEMORY
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George Miller,
"The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information"
Originally published in The Psychological Review, 1956, vol. 63, pp. 81-97.
COGNITIVE THEORIES and HCI
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An extensive critique of the role of cognitive theory in HCI is
Rogers, Y. (2004)
New Theoretical approaches for Human-Computer Interaction.
Annual Review of Information, Science and Technology, 38, 87-143. -
An extensive set of introductory papers
covering a diversity of theoretical approaches
(including Activity Theory, Distributed Cognition, External Cognition, Cognitive Ergonomics, Ethnomethodology, Coordination Theory, Organisational Theory and Computer Science theories)
GOMS
- To find out more about GOMS and the MHP visit the Usability First page.
- Also look at David Kieras and Bonnie John.
MENTAL MODELS
- A good introduction by Ruth Byrne (a cognitive psychologist).
- an on-going discussion about mental models
- An article by Scott McDaniel “Whats your idea of a mental model?”
- A podcast of a talk by Stephen Payne given in 2006 on mental models
DISTRIBUTED COGNITION
- Look at "A Brief introduction to distributed cognition" by Yvonne Rogers (2005).
COGNITIVE DISABILITIES
- For more on cognitive disabilities, Heather Mariger writes about the problems and challenges facing millions of web users who suffer from various cognitive impairments, such as Alzheimers, and provides a set of design recommendations for web design.
- A bit more insight into the world of cognitive disabilities can be obtained by looking at the Reports from a Resident Alien blog.
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