Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Glossary
ABCS Anthropometric, Behavior, Cognition, and Social factors: the high-level
constructs which are useful for organizing the knowledge about people that is
relevant to system design.
ACT-R A cognitive architecture used to model human cognition.
Aesthetics Relates to the characteristics of an object or system that make it
pleasurable to use. Sometimes called Esthetics.
Affordance The intrinsic property of an object that suggests actions that can be
performed with it, e.g., a handle affords grasping and pulling.
Anthropometrics The study of the shape of the body and how it influences what
is designed. It takes into consideration the physical characteristics of intended
users such their size and their muscular strength.
Attention A term that refers to the selective nature of perception which functions
in such a way that at any given time a person focuses on some feature(s) of the
environment to the exclusion of others.
Attribution theory Describes the tendency of people to attribute their own
actions to external situational causes, whereas external observers attribute the
same actions to causes that are internal to the person carrying out the actions.
Availability bias Arises because users tend to recall those items that are easier to
recall even when they may not be most representative of a particular situation.
Blunt end The part of the system that is furthest away from where the user
interacts with the technology. Normally refers to the level at which regulations
and laws are applied. Often used in contrast to the sharp end.
Closed loop behavior A pattern of behavior in which users take some actions,
and look for feedback on those actions before deciding how to proceed. Also
referred to as feedback control.
Cognitive
architecture A
framework
that
supports the
modeling
of human
information
processing
under
different
conditions.
Cognitive
architectures
include mechanisms designed to help model human cognition.
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