Summary
Cognitive Psychology - Summary Slides
- Course
- Institution
Summary of slides for the course Cognitive Psychology and its Applications
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
tararoopram
Content preview
Cognitive Psychology and its Applications - Slides summaryLecture 1: Introduction to Human Factors Engineering
Cognitive psychology
- Focuses on information processing capacities of the
brain
● To uncover the laws of information processing and
behaviour through experiments
● Fundamental questions
● No requirement for application
Human factors
- Physical & Psychological perspectives to the problems of system design
● To apply knowledge by designing systems that work
● To accommodate the limits of human performance
● Directly applied problems
Engineering psychology
- The study of interaction between humans and systems in order to improve performance,
safety, health and usability
● Poulton, 1966: “The aim of engineering psychology is not simply to compare two
possible designs for a piece of equipment [human factors], but to specify the capacities
and limitations of the human [generate experimental database] from which the choice of
a better design should be directly deducible”.
● In short: Designing machines to accommodate the limits of information-processing
capacities of the human brain
Goals of human factors
● Development of generic knowledge
● Enhance efficiency (productivity)
● Ensure safety, reduce error
● Assure tasks are within human capability
● Increase user satisfaction, comfort
● Improve human performance
● Reduce costs (economic, legal, social)
Brief history of human factors
● WWII: designing a human to fit the machine
○ Aviation and weapons
● Technology advancements
○ Increased logical complexity
○ Increased physical complexity
● Humans as information-processing systems
→
1
,Cognitive Psychology and its Applications - Slides summary
Design and evaluation cycle
The Human Factors cycle →
A) Problem solving
○ Most common
○ Cheap, quick “fix”
○ Ultimately most expensive
B) Integral part of design
○ Cockpit
○ Road design
○ Software
○ Consumer electronics
Effective Human Factors
● Task analysis
● Research methods
Task analysis
● Full range of tasks that user performs
● Physical
○ Use of tools, instruments
● Cognitive
○ Reliance on attention, memory, decision-making
● User analysis - aviation example
○ Who are the users → pilots
● Environment analysis (what airplane, distance travelled)
● Determine goals, functions, tasks (in decreasing order of importance)
○ Goal: highest level (flying the airplane)
○ Functions: functionalities (landing, communication, navigation)
○ Tasks: user actions (engaging gears, reducing speed, calling ATC)
● Understand the user’s goal:
○ Same goal can be reached with many different designs
2
,Cognitive Psychology and its Applications - Slides summary
Research methods
● Literature study
● Experimental research (controlled) - “the golden standard”
○ Lab study (flight simulator)
○ Field study
● Descriptive research (less/not controlled) - opposite of experimental research
○ Observations
○ Incident / accident analysis
○ Surveys
○ Interviews
Experiment / experimental research
● Establish causal relationship
● Situation may not be realistic enough
● Population may not representative
● Power may be low
● More realistic scenarios lead to more potential confounds
Surveys, observations
● Pick up general trends
● Pick up subjective experience
● No causal relationship
● “Suitable”answers
● Interpretation of questions, observations
● User’s preferred solution is not always optimal
Benefits of human factors
● Prevention of accidents
● Prevent compensation payments
● Less customer support needed
● Less sick leave, higher job satisfaction
● Higher productivity, more efficiency
● Lower costs for training personnel
Costs of human factor design
● Can be relatively low
○ Consultancy
○ Expert review
○ Tests
● More expensive
○ User-centred design
○ Complete task analysis
○ Surveys
○ Experimental research
3
, Cognitive Psychology and its Applications - Slides summary
● Costs are lower when involved early in design process
Lecture 2: Human Information Processing I
Brain structure and function
Human information processing
● Sensory system
● Perception
● Attention
● Memory
Sensation
● Visible light
● Color
4
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller tararoopram. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $11.34. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67096 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now