Human-Computer Interaction

ITP120

Lesson 1

Introduction to human
behavior

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

Introduction
In this lesson, we will first look at the human’s input–output channels, the senses and
responders or effectors. This will involve some low-level processing. Secondly, we will consider
human memory and how it works.
We will then think about how humans perform complex problem solving, how they learn
and acquire skills, and why they make mistakes. Finally, we will discuss how these things can help
us in the design of computer systems.

The Human
• Humans are limited in their capacity to process information. This has important
implications for design.

• Emotion influences human capabilities.

• Users share common capabilities but are individuals with differences, which should not
be ignored.

• The human, the user, is, after all, the one whom computer systems are designed to assist.
The requirements of the user should therefore be our first priority.

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

Vision or Sense of Sight
Human vision is a highly complex activity with a range of physical and perceptual
limitations, yet it is the primary source of information for the average person.

The human eye

Vision begins with light. The eye is a mechanism for receiving light and transforming it into
electrical energy. Light is reflected from objects in the world and their image is focused upside
down on the back of the eye. The receptors in the eye transform it into electrical signals which
are passed to the brain.

The eye has a number of important components (see picture below) which we will look at
in more detail.

The cornea and lens at the front of the eye focus the light into a sharp image on the back
of the eye, the retina.

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

 The retina is light sensitive and contains two types of photoreceptors: rods and cones.
Rods are highly sensitive to light and therefore allow us to see under a low level of illumination.
However, they are unable to resolve fine detail and are subject to light saturation. This is the
reason for the temporary blindness we get when moving from a darkened room into sunlight: the
rods have been active and are saturated by the sudden light. The cones do not operate either as
they are suppressed by the rods. We are therefore temporarily unable to see at all. There are
approximately 120 million rods per eye which are mainly situated towards the edges of the retina.
Rods therefore dominate peripheral vision.
Cones are the second type of receptor in the eye. They are less sensitive to light than the
rods and can therefore tolerate more light. There are three types of cones, each sensitive to a
different wavelength of light. This allows color vision. The eye has approximately 6 million cones,
mainly concentrated on the fovea, a small area of the retina on which images are fixated.
Although the retina is mainly covered with photoreceptors there is one blind spot where the optic
nerve enters the eye. The blind spot has no rods or cones, yet our visual system compensates for
this so that in normal circumstances we are unaware of it.
The retina also has specialized nerve cells called ganglion cells. There are two types: X-
cells, which are concentrated in the fovea and are responsible for the early detection of pattern;
and Y-cells which are more widely distributed in the retina and are responsible for the early
detection of movement. The distribution of these cells means that, while we may not be able to
detect changes in pattern in peripheral vision, we can perceive movement.

Visual Perception

Understanding the basic construction of the eye goes some way to explaining the physical
mechanisms of vision but visual perception is more than this. The information received by the
visual apparatus must be filtered and passed to processing elements which allow us to recognize
coherent scenes, disambiguate relative distances and differentiate color.

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

 Even in describing such a scene the notions of size and distance predominate. Our visual
system is easily able to interpret the images which it receives to take account of these things. We
can identify similar objects regardless of the fact that they appear to us to be of vastly different
sizes. In fact, we can use this information to judge distances.

The capabilities and limitations of visual processing and depth perception

In considering the way in which we perceive images we have already encountered some
of the capabilities and limitations of the human visual processing system. However, we have
concentrated largely on low-level perception.
Visual processing involves the transformation and interpretation of a complete image,
from the light that is thrown onto the retina. As we have already noted, our expectations affect
the way an image is perceived. For example, if we know that an object is a particular size, we will
perceive it as that size no matter how far it is from us.

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

 Visual processing compensates for the movement of the image on the retina which occurs
as we move around and as the object which we see moves. Although the retinal image is moving,
the image that we perceive is stable. Similarly, color and brightness of objects are perceived as
constant, in spite of changes in luminance. This ability to interpret and exploit our expectations
can be used to resolve ambiguity. For example, consider the image shown above. What do you
perceive?

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

 It can also create optical illusions. For example, consider the picture below. Which line is
longer? Most people when presented with this will say that the top line is longer than the bottom.
In fact, the two lines are the same length.

A similar illusion is the Ponzo illusion (above). Here the top line appears longer, owing to
the distance effect, although both lines are the same length. These illusions demonstrate that
our perception of size is not completely reliable.

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

 Another illusion created by our expectations compensating an image is the proofreading
illusion. Read the text below quickly. What does it say? Most people reading this rapidly will read
it correctly, although closer inspection shows that the word ‘the’ is repeated in the second and
third line. These are just a few examples of how the visual system compensates, and sometimes
overcompensates, to allow us to perceive the world around us.

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

Reading

There are several stages in the reading process.

• First, the visual pattern of the word on the page is perceived.

• It is then decoded with reference to an internal representation of language.

• The final stages of language processing include syntactic and semantic analysis and
operate on phrases or sentences.

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

Hearing

The sense of hearing is often considered secondary to sight, but we tend to underestimate
the amount of information that we receive through our ears. Close your eyes for a moment and
listen. What sounds can you hear? Where are they coming from? What is making them?

The auditory system can convey a lot of information about our environment. But how does
it work?

Processing sound

Pitch is the frequency of the sound. A low frequency produces a low pitch, a high
frequency, a high pitch.

Loudness is proportional to the amplitude of the sound; the frequency remains constant.

Timbre relates to the type of the sound: sounds may have the same pitch and loudness
but be made by different instruments and so vary in timbre.

We can also identify a sound’s location, since the two ears receive slightly different
sounds, owing to the time difference between the sound reaching the two ears and the reduction
in intensity caused by the sound waves reflecting from the head.

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

 The human ear can hear frequencies from about 20 Hz to 15 kHz. It can distinguish
frequency changes of less than 1.5 Hz at low frequencies but is less accurate at high frequencies.
Different frequencies trigger activity in neurons in different parts of the auditory system, and
cause different rates of firing of nerve impulses.

The auditory system performs some filtering of the sounds received, allowing us to ignore
background noise and concentrate on important information. We are selective in our hearing, as
illustrated by the cocktail party effect, where we can pick out our name spoken across a crowded
noisy room. However, if sounds are too loud, or frequencies too similar, we are unable to
differentiate sound.

Touch

The third and last of the senses that we will consider is touch or haptic perception. Although this
sense is often viewed as less important than sight or hearing, imagine life without it. Touch
provides us with vital information about our environment. It tells us when we touch something
hot or cold, and can therefore act as a warning. It also provides us with feedback when we attempt
to lift an object, for example.

Consider the act of picking up a glass of water. If we could only see the glass and not feel
when our hand made contact with it or feel its shape, the speed and accuracy of the action would
be reduced. This is the experience of users of certain virtual reality games: they can see the
computer-generated objects which they need to manipulate but they have no physical sensation
of touching them. Watching such users can be an informative and amusing experience! Touch is
therefore an important means of feedback, and this is no less so in using computer systems.
Feeling buttons depress is an important part of the task of pressing the button.

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva

 Also, we should be aware that, although for the average person, haptic perception is a
secondary source of information, for those whose other senses are impaired, it may be vitally
important. For such users, interfaces such as braille may be the primary source of information in
the interaction. We should not therefore underestimate the importance of touch.

The apparatus of touch differs from that of sight and hearing in that it is not localized. We
receive stimuli through the skin. The skin contains three types of sensory receptor:
thermoreceptors respond to heat and cold, nociceptors respond to intense pressure, heat and
pain, and mechanoreceptors respond to pressure. It is the last of these that we are concerned
with in relation to human–computer interaction.

Prepared by: Prof. Richmond Allen Villanueva