HUMAN

- central character of interactive systems, VISION

- computer user, primary source of information for a normal or
- the one whom computer systems are average person;
designed to assist,
Priority is the requirements of the user;
2 stages of visual perception
use of computer systems
1. physical reception of the stimulus from
how humans perceive the world, outside world
how they store and process information and 2. processing the interpretation of that stimulus
solve problems,
how they physically manipulate objects;
HUMAN EYE
- mechanism for receiving light
MODEL HUMAN PROCESSOR transforming it to electrical energy,
Three Subsystems: - light is reflected from objects with an
upside-down image,
1. Perceptual system - receptors transform it into electrical
handling sensory stimulus from outside world energy to the brain.

2. Motor system CORNEA AND LENS

controls actions - front of the eye focuses light in a sharp

image on the back of the eye;
3. Cognitive system
RETINA
provides the processing needed to connect the
two - back of the eye;

COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM PHOTORECEPTORS OF RETINA

Input – senses (major senses); RODS

sight, hear, touch, taste, smell - highly sensitive to light,

- allow us to see under low level of
Output – motor control of the effectors; illumination,
limbs, fingers - has the primary role in - dominate peripheral vision;

computer interaction; CONES

eyes, head, vocal system; - less sensitive to light than rods,

- allows color vision;
FOVEA OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
- small area of the retina on which images - difference between the way things are
are fixated. and the way users perceive them,
- blind spot - we will not always perceive things as they
- no rods or cones are,
- magnify horizontal lines and reduce
vertical lines,
GANGLION CELLS
- affect symmetry;
- specialized nerve cells that detect
pattern and movements;
READING
x cells
- image perception
- concentrated in the fovea, - text perception and processing
- early detection of pattern.
y cells STAGES IN READING

- more widely distributed in retina, 1. visual pattern perception

- early detection of movement.
2. decoding with reference to internal
representation of a language
VISUAL PERCEPTION
3. syntactic and semantic analysis operating on
1. size and depth perception
phrases or sentences
2. perceiving brightness
3. perceiving color
SACCADES
- jerky movements of the eyes
VISUAL ANGLE
FIXATION
- object of the same size at different
- perception
distances have different visual angle,
- objects of different sizes and distances REGRESSION
have the same visual angle.
- backward and forward eye movement

VISUAL ACUITY
- ability of a person to perceive fine details.
SPEED READING
LAW OF SIZE CONSTANCY - measure of its legibility,
- 9 to 12 points
- indicates that the perception of size relies
- using computer screen is slower than
on factors other than the visual angle.
reading a book
 - can be reduced by careful design of text SOUND LOCATION
interface.
- ears receive slightly different sounds,
- time difference between sounds reaching
CONTRAST IN VISUAL DISPLAY the two ears,
- reduction of intensity caused by sound
waves;
NEGATIVE CONTRAST
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
- light screen and dark characters,
1. Pitch
- provides higher luminance,
- increased acuity, - frequency of sound,
- increased legibility, - low frequency, low pitch;
- prone to flicker,
- preferred than positive contrast, 2. Loudness
- results in more accurate performance. - to sound amplitude,
- frequency remains constant;
HEARING 3. Timbre
- considered secondary to light, - relates to the type of sound,
- begins with vibrations in the air/sound
waves - sound same pitch and loudness
- ear receives vibrations, transmits to but made by different i
auditory nerve by stages; instruments.
SOUND
SECTIONS OF THE EAR
- 15Hz to 15kHz
• Outer ear (air-filled) - frequency heard by the human ear;
• Middle ear (air-filled) - auditory system
• Inner ear (filled with dense cochlea liquid) - filtering sounds received;

Smallest Bones in the Ear Cocktail Party Effect (Selective)

Malleus - Hammer - can pick out our name spoken across a

crowded and noisy room;
Incus - Anvil - sounds too loud or frequencies too
Stapes- Stirrup similar;
- rarely used in interface design
- warning signs and notifications;
- multimedia (music, voice commentary,
PROCESSING SOUND
sound effects)
- ear can differentiate sound changes;
- can recognize familiar sounds without
SOUND
concentration on sound source;
- change or vibration in air pressure; - sound can be used more extensively in
interface design;
 - convey information about system state; 3. Mechanoreceptors

TOUCH - responds to pressure

- also referred to as haptic perception; • Rapidly Adapting

- provides vital information about - respond to immediate pressure,
environment react more quickly with increased
- secondary source of information pressure and stop responding if applied
- receive stimuli through the skin pressure is continuous.
- warning (hot and cold);
- feedback (lifting an object) • Slowly Adapting
- virtual reality games; - respond to continuously applied
- primary source of information when other pressure.
senses are impaired; ECOMMERCE HANDLING
ASPECTS OF HAPTIC PERCEPTION - convenience (travel services, books,
1. Tactile Feedback CDs/DVDs, food)
- - experience (clothes, cars, shoes)
- receive stimuli through the skin,
- not localized (restricted to a specific or limited,
MOVEMENT
concentrated area); - motor control
- how the way we move affects our
2. Kinesthesis
interaction with computers;
- awareness of the position of the body and
limbs and affects both comfort and
Processing Stages
performance;
1. The Stimulus (of the question) is received
• Rapidly Adapting
- responds when limb is moved in a through the sensory receptors and
particular direction;
transmitted to the brain.
• Slowly Adapting
- responds to both movement and 2. The question is processed and valid
static position;
response is generated.
3. Positional Receptors
3. The brain then tells\commands the
- responds when a limb is in static appropriate muscles to respond.
position;
SENSORY RECEPTORS OF THE SKIN
STAGES OF MOVEMENT
1. Thermoreceptors
1. Reaction Time
- responds to heat and cold
- from the onset of the stimulus to the
2. Nociceptors completion of the movement (psychological
stage)
- responds to intense pressure, heat, and pain
 - varies according to sensor channel - on lists, most frequent at the top (closest
through which the stimulus is received; to the user’s start points)
2. Movement Time
- from the start of movement to the end of the
movement (physiological stage), depends on HUMAN MEMORY
physical characteristics like age and fitness; - memory system
3. Response Time - ability to store and retrieve information

- from the onset of the stimulus to the

completion of the movement, (reaction time + HUMAN MEMORY TYPES
movement time), 1. Sensory Memory
- combined signal results in quicker • Iconic memory
response, - visual stimuli
- reaction time is reduced through skill or - moving fingers in front of eyes,
practice,
- fatigue increases reaction time; 2. Echoic Memory
MOTOR SKILL MEASURES • Aural Stimuli
- ability to ascertain direction of sound,
playback
1. Speed
3. Haptic Memory
- auditory signal 150ms
- touch
- visual signal 200ms
- attention
- pain signal 700ms
- concentration of the mind on one out of many
stimuli or thoughts

2. Accuracy
- increased reaction time reduce accuracy, Arousal

- arcade games (skilled, less errors); - level of interest or need

- Designing targets should generally be as large

as possible.
3. SHORT TERM MEMORY (STM)
- distance to be moved as small as possible,
- working memory or “scratch pad”, can be
- pie chart shaped menus vs list accessed rapidly, limited capacity;

Trade Offs Basic Methods For Measuring Memory

- use of large screen space, Capacity

1. determining the length of a sequence in
order closure.
3. LONG TERM MEMORY (LTM)
2. Allow items that can be freely recalled in any
order recency effect. - main resource,
- storage of factual information,

7 + 2 rule - experimental knowledge,

- grouped or chunked digits; - procedural rules of behavior;

Closure
DIFFERENCE FROM STM
- successful formation of chunks,
1. huge unlimited capacity
Recency Effect
2. relatively slow access time
- recall of the last words presented is
better than recalling those in the middle. 3. forgetting occurs in LTM
4. long term storage

TYPES OF LTM
1. Episodic Memory
- memory of events and experiences
2. Semantic Memory
- information derived from episode
memory
1. Visio-spatial Scratchpad - structured record of fact, concepts, and
skills acquired,
- visual channel
- items associated with classes, inherit
- sentence processing attributes from parent classes,
- connections within the network linked to
other domains of knowledge, knowledge
2. Articulatory Loop is organized by association.
- (Articulatory Channel) Semantic Networks
- task of remembering digits; - represent the associations and
3. Central Executive relationship between single items in
memory,
- don’t allow to model the representation
4. Auditory Imaging System of more complex objects or event,
 - structured representations organize info b. Proactive Inhibition
into data structures,
- old memory trace breaks through and interfere
- slots in data structure allow attribute
with new information
values to be added, lots can contain
procedural knowledge;
STRUCTURED REPRESENTATIONS 3. EMOTIONAL FACTORS
1. Frames - emotive words are harder to remember than
non-emotive words in the short term but easier
- instantiated when slots are filled with
in the long term,
values;
- ten to remember positive information rather
2. Scripts than negative,
- can be linked together in network, model - highly emotive rather than ordinary;
stereotypical knowledge
Procedural Knowledge
INFORMATION RETRIEVAL
- knowledge on how to do something
1. Recall
- information is presented from memory
MAIN ACTIVITIES RELATED TO LTM

2. Recognition
1. STORAGE OR RETIRIEVAL OF INFORMATION
- the presentation of information provides the
• Total Time Hypothesis
knowledge that the information has been seen
- amount learned was directly proportional
before.
to the amount of time spent learning
- vivid imagery is a common cue to help
• Distribution Of Practice Effect people to remember information
- learning time is more effective if it is (visualization)
distributed over time; - improve your memory
- words sound similar to numbers,
- think about the words,
- visualize them, much detail as possible
2. FORGETTING
imagine how things would look, smell,
• Decay taste, sound, learn by doing.
- suggest that information in long term
memory may eventually forgotten
THINKING
• Interference - information is processed and
manipulated,
a. Retroactive Interference
- artificial intelligence has preserved
- new information acquiring causes the loss of machines that can see and store
information information.
CATEGORIES OF THINKING 2. develops rules specific
1. REASONING
- process by which we use the knowledge we ERROR AND MENTAL MODELS
have to draw conclusions or infer something new
1. Slips
about the domain of interest;
- right intention but failed to do it right, causes
• Deductive Reasoning
poor physical skill, inattention, change to aspect
- derives the conclusion based on the
of skilled behavior can cause slips.
given premises,
- human deduction is poorest when truth 2. Mistakes
and validity clash, people bring
- wrong intention,
knowledge into the
- reasoning process, - incorrect understanding
- general to specific

• Inductive Reasoning Emotion

- unreliable but useful process,
- gather evidence to support the reasoning, - involves both cognitive and physical
positive evidence rather than negative. responses to stimuli;
- it affects biological response to stimuli,
• Abductive Reasoning - affect influences how we respond to
- reasons from a fact to the action or stat situations;
that caused it, unreliable – can cause positive
false, have evidence to support an
alternative theory, can lead to problems - create problem solving;
using interactive systems, infer that the negative
event is caused by the action, if an
event/action are unrelated it may result to - narrow thinking;
confusion and error; implications for interface design
2. PROBLEM SOLVING stress will increase difficulty,
- process of finding a solution to an unfamiliar relaxed users will be more forgiving of
task, using the knowledge we have;
shortcomings,
Human Problem Solving
aesthetically pleasing interface will increase
- characterized by the ability to adapt the
information we have to deal with new situations positive effect;
skill acquisition skilled activity characterized by
chunking, lot of information is chunked and
organized.
BASIC LEVELS OF SKILLS
1. learner use general purpose rules LONGTERM
 - sex, physical, intellectual; Memory
SHORT TERM
• Types:
- effect of stress or fatigue; o Permanent media.
- changing age;
• Capacity: Varies based on technology.
- psychology and the design of interactive
system • Access: Speed and ease vary.
- direct applications,
- correct application generally requires
understanding of the context; Processing

COMPUTER SYSTEM • Speed: Determines efficiency.

• Networking: Facilitates connectivity.
- made up of carious elements that affects
the interaction;
input devices Interactivity
- test entry and pointing;
Batch Processing
output devices
- small and large screens, digital paper; • Uses punched card stacks and large data
files.
Virtual Reality • Features long waiting times.
• Outputs through line printers.

Interactive Computing
Special Interaction and Display
Devices • Provides rapid feedback.
• User control is dominant.
Physical Interaction • Focuses on action rather than planning.

• Haptics: Enables touch-based feedback.

Text Entry Devices
Paper
Keyboards
• Output: Print.
• Input: Scan. • Most Common Input Device:
o Rapid text entry.
o Keypress sends character code
(e.g., ASCII).
 o Can be wired or wireless. • Common in PDAs and tablets.
• Keyboard Layout:
o Non-alphanumeric keys vary by Challenges:
script.
o Accented symbols for diverse • Capturing complete information.
languages. • Segmenting joined writing into letters.
• Recognizing individual letters and varying
QWERTY Layout styles.

• Designed to prevent typewriter jams.

• Suboptimal for modern typing efficiency. Speech Recognition

Alternative Keyboard Layouts • Rapidly improving technology.

• Alphabetic: Effective Conditions:

o Ineffective for trained or beginner
typists. • Single-user systems.
• Dvorak: • Limited vocabulary.
o Common letters under dominant
fingers. Challenges:
o Biased toward the right hand.
• Colmak & Workman: • External noise.
o Ergonomic alternatives. • Imprecision.
• Handling large vocabularies.
Special Keyboards • Adapting to diverse speakers.

• Reduce repetitive strain injuries.

• One-handed use (e.g., Maltron Numeric Keypads
keyboards).
• Quick number entry for:
Chord Keyboards o Calculators, PC keyboards,
telephones, ATMs.
• 4–5 keys, compact design.
• Letters typed via combinations.

Handwriting Recognition

• Input via pen and digital tablet.

Positioning, Pointing, and Drawing o Imprecision.
Devices
Stylus and Light Pens
Mouse
• Detect location via screen light.
• Planar movement, button-based
Tablet
controls.
• Detects relative movement (X, Y axes).
• Mouse-like accuracy on specialized
surfaces.
Mouse Types:

• Mechanical.
Display Devices
• Optical.
• Foot mouse.
Bitmap Displays

Touchpads
• Resolution:
o Number of pixels (e.g., SVGA
• Integrated into laptops.
1024x768).
o Pixel density (typically 72–42 DPI).
Trackballs
• Aspect Ratio:
o Standard: 4:3.
• Ball-based movement control.
o Widescreen: 16:9.
Eyegaze • Color Depth:
o Black/white, grayscale, or anti-
• Direction-based interaction. aliased colors.
• Uses laser beams and cameras.
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
Joystick
• Emits streams of electrons.
• Movement and selection. • Found in older TVs and monitors.

Touch Screens Health Hazards:

• Advantages: • X-rays absorbed by screens.

o Fast interaction. • UV/IR radiation from phosphorescent
• Disadvantages: screens.
o Screen marking. • Electromagnetic effects on vision and
reproduction.
Health Tips:

• Avoid sitting too close.

• Use readable fonts.
• Take breaks.
• Avoid placing screens near bright
windows.
• Exercise caution during pregnancy.

Types of Screens:

• CRT.
• LCD.
• Digital Paper.