MU220 User Interaction Studies

1. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor MU220 User Interaction Studies

2. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor MU220 User Interaction Studies Week 4 Cognitive Psychology – memory. Study on human mental process in relation to how we think feel and behave The mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment.

3. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor MU220 Human Cognition Attention Perception & recognition Memory Learning Reading, speaking & listening Problem solving, reasoning & decision making

4. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Cognitive processes Interdependent But rarely occur in isolation How can cognitive psychology principles be applied to design?

5. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Information Processing

6. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Applying Psychology to Design Attention Visual perception Memory Auditory perception Haptics

7. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Aardvark Bathroom Agenda Layout Computer Thomas Bicycle Music Coffee Gorgeous

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16. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Primacy & Recency

17. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Primacy

18. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Recency

19. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Dissecting Memory

20. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Dissecting Memory Memory enables us to recall various information or experiences and allows us to interact appropriately. We would not be able to function effectively without memory. On the other hand it is impossible to remember everything that is seen, heard, felt or touched which could lead to memory overloading. This leads to a filtering process i.e. deciding which information get processed and which memorised.

21. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Dissecting Memory Memory consist of 2 major components: Working memory (short term memory - STM) Long term memory (LTM) Working memory Can hold up to 30 seconds chunks of information Needs to be refreshed or else it will be lost As it is short lived it can be overwritten when new material arrives

22. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Dissecting memory Long term memory is the inverse of STM Can last a few minutes or a lifetime E.g. : catchy tunes, riding a bicycle etc Investigate How can an STM be turned into a long term memory?

23. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Recall process where individual actively search their memories to retrieve a piece of information Recognition searching your memory and decides on whether the current information matches the one in your memory store Which is easier?

24. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Activity Try to remember all the house numbers of where your friends live Try to remember the latest game advertisement you have seen Which is easier? Why?

25. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Memory - designing usable interface Minimising memory requirements and cognitive load is essential in designing usable interfaces One often used theory is chunking What other psychological theory forms the base for studying the limits of memory are there?

26. Improving memory - chunking Miller (1956) 7 ± 2 Cowan (2002) 4 ± 1 Eg: how do you recall phone numbers? 07765476981 07765 476 981 May be cultural – France – spoken and remembered in pairs What strategies do you use for remembering things?

27. Chunking Chunking is the process of grouping information into larger more meaningful units – minimising the demand on working memory Chunking is effective way of reducing memory load. Give an example where this is used.

28. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Overcoming Problem with 7+/2 theory Some UI designers have restricted the number of items on a menu but… WIMP interfaces allow scanning so reduce need for memorisation Reduce need for long term memory in favour of STM and browsing strategies Thumbnail views

29. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Recall and Recognition Recall – individual actively search their memory to retrieve a piece of information Searches your memory and decide whether the piece of information matches what you have in your memory store. Recognition is generally easier and quicker than recall

30. Example Microsoft Word

31. Example Microsoft Word

32. Example Microsoft Word

33. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Improving your Memory Interesting information on improving memory http://www.mindtools.com/memory.html

34. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Thumbnails

35. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Icons Icons are used to represent features and functions on Public information kiosks, CD/DVD players, software application packages etc…….. Is an Icon worth a thousand words?

36. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Icons Are these easily recognised? (Windows 7)

37. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Icons What about these? (Windows 7)

38. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Icons

39. Memory Design Guidelines 1 Organise information into a small number of chunks Create short linear sequences of tasks Use persistence, so do not flash important information onto the screen for brief time periods Do not overwrite the contents of working memory by giving additional tasks to the users Organise data fields to match user expectations or to organise user input e.g. the automatic formatting of phone numbers

40. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Memory design Guidelines 2 Provide reminders or warnings of the stage the user has reached in an operation (what other form of warnings can be used here?) Provide ongoing feedback on what is happening and/or what has just happened The user interface should behave in consistent ways at all times for all screens Terminology, icons and use of colour should be consistent between screens

41. Nina Reeves, Module Tutor Summary Seen memory divided into different stores Looking at recall and recognition Some preliminary knowledge to design for memory Sites to try: Human-factors.nasa BBC Human Minds Brain training Memory Retention Brainmetrix