HCI (Midterms)

• Cognitive psychology


  A branch of psychology that focuses on studying mental processes such as perception, memory, attention, problem-solving, and decision-making

  
• Cognitive psychology

  • Helps designers create interfaces that align with users' cognitive abilities, making them more intuitive, efficient, and user-friendly
• Goals of applying cognitive psychology to HCI

  • Perception: Understanding how users perceive information
  • Memory: Informing decisions about how information should be presented and organized
  • Attention: Considering the limitations of human attention and prioritizing information
  • Problem-Solving and Decision-Making: Supporting users in problem-solving and decision-making processes
  • Learning and Adaptation: Facilitating user learning and adaptation
  • Feedback and Error Handling: Informing how feedback is provided and how errors are handled
  • Information Processing Models: Understanding how users encode, store, and retrieve information
  • Cognitive Ergonomics: Optimizing interfaces to support users' cognitive processes
• Human input

  The mental processes and mechanisms by which humans perceive, interpret, store, and retrieve information from their environment
• Understanding human input in HCI

  • Essential to design interfaces that align with users' cognitive capabilities and limitations
• Visual Channel


  The process of conveying information through sight
• There is two important element in learning the Visual channel, first is understanding the human sensitivity to light and colors and human focus.

  
• Newton's Laws of Optics


  The properties of light on how it reflects, refracts, and disperses on different objects
• Humans can only see colors in the visible light spectrum, using the RGB photoreceptors in the retina

  
• Rule of Thirds


  A compositional guideline that helps direct the viewer's gaze to the main focal point of an image

  
• Auditory Channel


  The process of conveying information through sounds
• The auditory channel is important because not everyone can read, but everyone can listen
• Haptic Channel


  The process of conveying information through touch
• Haptic Channel


  • Encompasses the sense of touch and its role in perception, learning, memory, and understanding

  
• Movement


  The process of conveying information through physical action and gestures
• Movement in cognitive psychology

  • Encompasses the interactions between physical movement, motor skills, and cognitive processes
• Memory


  A complex and multifaceted process that involves the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information over time
• Types of Memory

  • Sensory Memory
  • Short-term Memory
  • Long-term Memory
• Sensory Memory


  A mental representation of how environmental events look, sound, feel, smell and taste
• Short-term Memory


  The memory systems in the brain involved in remembering pieces of information for a short period of time, often up to 30 seconds
• Long-term Memory


  Unlimited storage information to be maintained for long periods, even for life. Includes declarative/explicit memory and non-declarative/implicit memory
• Two types of long-term memory are:

  • Declarative or Explicit memory
  • Non-declarative or implicit memory
• Explicit Memory


  A memory that refers to information that can be consciously evoked.
• HCI


  Human-Computer Interaction
• User-Centered Design (UCD)


  A design approach that creates user-friendly and effective products by involving users in the design and development stages
• Usability Testing


  A process to identify issues and areas for improvement in the design by directly observing how real users interact with the system
• Origin of Human-Computer Interaction

  Late 1970s
• Desktop Metaphor


  A computer interface that represents a desk with several papers on top of it, symbolizing the computer files
• Xerox Alto


  An early computer with the first sketch of a Graphical User Interface (GUI)

  
• Macintosh


  The first computer metaphor used commercially by Apple in the Lisa OS
• Computer Engineers


  contribute to the design of hardware components, including input devices (e.g., keyboards, mice, touchscreens) and output devices (e.g., displays, speakers). The design of these components directly influences the user.
• Software Development


  Computer science provides the technical foundation for the development of software interfaces. HCI principles influence the design and implementation of user interfaces, ensuring they are intuitive, efficient, and responsive to user needs.
• Network and Connectivity


  Computer engineering enables the development of networked systems and devices. HCI is critical in ensuring that user interfaces for connected devices are designed to facilitate smooth interactions and provide a seamless experience across multiple platforms.
• Collaboration and Communication


  With the growing influence of the Internet in the 90s, the second wave begins to direct the field of Human-Computer Interaction beyond mental models.
• Social Impact


  The third wave brings the continuing diversification of computing devices. In the 20th century, we were forced to reflect on the role of technology in our lives and the paradox of being connected but often alone.