Human-Computer Interaction - Chapter 1: The Human

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the human sensory system, memory systems, reasoning processes, error models, and foundational concepts of Human-Computer Interaction based on Chapter 1.

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

The field of study that focuses on optimizing how users and computers interact by designing interactive computer interfaces that satisfy users' needs.

Key Components of HCI

The four fundamental components that constitute HCI: the user, the goal-oriented task, the interface, and the context.

The Eye (Physical Reception)

The physiological mechanism for receiving light reflected from objects and transforming it into electrical energy, focusing images upside-down onto the retina.

Rods

Photoreceptor cells located in the retina that provide low-light vision.

Cones

Photoreceptor cells located in the retina that are sensitive to colour wavelengths and enable colour vision.

Ganglion Cells

Cells connected to the retina and brain that function to detect patterns and movement.

Visual Angle

A measurement indicating how much of the view an object occupies, relating to the object's physical size and its distance from the eye.

Visual Acuity

The human visual system's capacity to perceive fine detail, which increases as luminance increases.

Blue Acuity

The visual acuity for blue colour, which is the lowest among visual wavelengths and makes small blue details hard to read or see.

Fixations

Stationary pauses of the eye during reading during which visual perception actually takes place.

Saccades

Rapid, jerky movements of the eye that occur between fixations while reading.

Auditory Frequency Range

The sound frequencies detectable by humans, spanning from $20\,\text{Hz}$ to $15\,\text{kHz}$, with humans being less accurate at distinguishing high frequencies.

Mechanoreceptors

Skin sensory receptors that detect pressure, providing instant or continuous feedback to touch stimuli.

Thermoreceptors

Receptors in the human skin responsible for detecting sensations of heat and cold.

Nociceptors

Skin receptors specifically sensitive to noxious stimuli that signal pain.

Kinesthesis

The awareness of body position and limb movement, which directly impacts user comfort and performance during interaction.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

The temporary memory scratch-pad characterized by rapid access of approximately $70\,\text{ms}$, rapid decay of approximately $200\,\text{ms}$, and a capacity limited to $7 \pm 2$ chunks.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The permanent repository for all knowledge, exhibiting slow access of approximately $\frac{1}{10}\,\text{second}$, very slow decay, and a huge or unlimited capacity.

Episodic Memory

A form of long-term memory that stores a serial record of events and personal experiences.

Semantic Memory

Structured long-term memory consisting of facts, concepts, and skills, which is derived from episodic memory.

Retroactive Interference

An interference effect in long-term memory where newly acquired information replaces or hinders access to older information.

Proactive Inhibition

A memory interference effect in which previously learned old information hinders the retrieval or retention of newly acquired information.

Recognition

A memory retrieval process where presented information acts as its own cue to acknowledge prior exposure, requiring less cognitive effort than recall.

Recall

A memory retrieval process where stored information must be actively reproduced from memory, which can be assisted by cues like categories or imagery.

Deductive Reasoning

Deriving logically necessary conclusions from given premises, where argument validity depends purely on logical form and not on whether the premises are true.

Inductive Reasoning

Generalizing from observed cases to unobserved cases, a process that can be disproven by a single counterexample but cannot definitively prove a rule true.

Abductive Reasoning

Reasoning from an observed event backward to infer its probable cause, which can lead to unreliable or false explanations.

Gestalt Theory (Problem Solving)

A theory proposing that problem solving relies on reusing past experience combined with insight that restructures how the problem is perceived.

Problem Space

A problem-solving model centered on transitioning from an initial state to a goal state using heuristic procedures such as means-ends analysis.

Slips

Errors occurring when a user has the correct intention but performs the action incorrectly, often caused by inattention or poor physical skill.

Mistakes

Errors that occur when a user adopts the wrong intention due to incorrect understanding or a faulty mental model.

Mental Models

Internal representations formed by humans to conceptualize and predict how a system functions, which cause errors if incongruent with the actual system.

James-Lange Theory

A theory positing that emotion represents a person's cognitive interpretation of an automatic physiological response to an external stimulus.