Lecture 2

HUMAN COMPUTER
INTERACTION

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Summary
 In previous lecture we learnt about,
 Basics of Human Computer Interaction
 Alarm Clock Example
 Dos time versus software application

 Don Norman’s Door Example

 The human
 Information i/o …
 visual,
 auditory,

 haptic,

 movement

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TODAY’S OUTLINE
 The MEMORY
 Information stored in memory
 sensory, short-term, long-term
 Information processed and applied
 reasoning, problem solving, skill, error
 Emotion influences human capabilities
 Each person is different

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Memory
Memory
• Without the capacity to remember and to learn, it is difficult to
imagine what life would be like, whether it could be called living
at all. Without memory, we would be servants of the moment,
with nothing but our innate reflexes to help us deal with the
world. There could be no language, no art, no science, no
culture.’ (Blakemore, 1988)
Memory
There are three types of memory function:

Sensory memories

Short-term memory or working memory

Long-term memory

Selection of stimuli governed by level of arousal.

sensory memory
 Buffers for stimuli received through senses
 iconic memory: visual stimuli
 echoic memory: aural stimuli
 haptic memory: tactile stimuli
 Continuously overwritten
Short-term memory (STM)
 Scratch-pad for temporary recall
 rapid access ~ 70ms

 rapid decay ~ 200ms

 limited capacity - 7± 2 chunks

Examples

21248278493202
212 4827 8493 202
0121 414 2626
HEC ATR ANU PTH ETR EET
(The Cat Ran Up The Tree)
Long-term memory (LTM)
 Repository for all our knowledge
 slow access ~ 1/10 second
 slow decay, if any
 huge or unlimited capacity

 Two types
 episodic – serial memory of events
 semantic – structured memory of facts, concepts, skills

semantic LTM derived from episodic LTM

Long-term memory (cont.)
 Semantic memory structure
 provides access to information
 represents relationships between bits of information (links with a
event or e.g birth linked with a season summer/fall)

 Model: semantic network

 Semantic networks are a way of representing relationships
between objects and ideas.
 inheritance – child nodes inherit properties of parent nodes
 relationships between bits of information clear
LTM - semantic network
Models of LTM - Frames
 Information organized in data structures
 Slots in structure instantiated with values for instance of data
 Type–subtype relationships

DOG COLLIE

Fixed Fixed
legs: 4 breed of: DOG
type: sheepdog
Default
diet: carniverous Default
sound: bark size: 65 cm
Variable Variable
size: colour
colour
Models of LTM - Scripts
Model of prototypical information needed to interpret the scenario
Script has elements that can be instantiated with values for context

Script for a visit to the vet (veterinary doctor)

Entry conditions: dog ill Roles: vet examines

vet open diagnoses
owner has money treats
owner brings dog in
Result: dog better
pays
owner poorer
takes dog out
vet richer
Scenes: arriving at reception
Plan: examination table
waiting in room
medicine
examination
instruments
paying
Tracks: dog needs medicine
dog needs operation
Models of LTM - Production
rules
Representation of procedural knowledge.

Condition/action rules
if condition is matched
then use rule to determine action.

IF dog is wagging tail

THEN pat dog

IF dog is growling
THEN run away
LTM - Storage of information
 rehearsal
 information moves from STM to LTM

 total time hypothesis

 amount retained proportional to rehearsal time

 distribution of practice effect

 improved by spreading learning over time (e.g studying from
different sources about a topic)

 structure, meaning and familiarity (in familiar language)

 information easier to remember, when information are structured
, meaningful and defined in familiar language
LTM - Forgetting
decay
 information is lost gradually but very slowly

interference
 new information replaces old: retroactive interference
(languages replacement with respect to location)

so may not forget at all memory is selective …

… affected by emotion – can subconsciously `choose' to forget
LTM - retrieval
recall
 information reproduced from memory can be assisted by cues,
e.g. categories, imagery

recognition
 information gives knowledge that it has been seen before
 less complex than recall - information is cue
 Thinking

Reasoning
deduction, induction, abduction
Problem solving
Deductive Reasoning
 Deduction:
 It is when you take two true statements, to form a conclusion.
 For example, A is equal to B. B is also equal to C.
 Given those two statements, you can conclude A is equal to C using
deductive reasoning.
 derive logically necessary conclusion from given premises.
e.g. If it is Friday then he will go to work
It is Friday
Therefore he will go to work.

 Logical conclusion not necessarily true:

e.g. If it is raining then the ground is dry
It is raining
Therefore the ground is dry
Deduction (cont.)
 When truth and logical validity clash …
e.g. Some people are babies
Some babies cry
Inference - Some people cry
Correct?
(every person has its own logic about the
scenario)
 People bring world knowledge to bear
Inductive Reasoning
 Induction:
 generalize from cases seen to cases unseen
e.g. all elephants we have seen have trunks
therefore all elephants have trunks.

 Unreliable:
 can only prove false not true

… but useful! (correction of error in a program)

 Humans not good at using negative evidence
e.g. Wason's cards.
Wason's cards

7 E 4 K
If a card has a vowel on one side it has an even number on the other

Is this true?

How many cards do you need to turn over to find out?

…. and which cards?

Abductive reasoning
 reasoning from event to cause
e.g. Sam drives fast when drunk.
If I see Sam driving fast, assume drunk.

 Unreliable:
 can lead to false explanations
Problem solving
 Process of finding solution to unfamiliar task using
knowledge.(based on historical data / past experience)
 E.g. using new mobile phone

 Gestalt
 problem solving both productive and reproductive
 attractive but not enough evidence to explain `insight' etc. (e.g checking
on police check post to check …)
 move away from behaviourism and directed towards information
processing theories (experts opinions about a cricket team when…)
Problem solving (cont.)
Problem space theory
 problem space contains problem states
 problem solving involves generating states using legal operators
 heuristics may be employed to select operators
e.g. means-ends analysis
 operates within human information processing system
e.g. STM limits etc.
Problem solving (cont.)
 Analogy
 analogical mapping:
 novel problems in new domain?
 use knowledge of similar problem from similar domain

 analogical mapping difficult if domains are semantically different

 Skill acquisition
 skilled activity characterized by chunking
 lot of information is chunked to optimize STM

 conceptual rather than superficial grouping of problems

 information is structured more effectively
Errors and mental models
Types of error
 slips
 right intention, but failed to do it right
 causes: poor physical skill, inattention etc.
 change to aspect of skilled behaviour can cause slip

 mistakes
 if you have wrong intention mistakes will occur
 cause: incorrect understanding
humans create mental models to explain behaviour.
if wrong (different from actual system) errors can occur
Emotion
 Various theories of how emotion works
 James-Lange: emotion is our interpretation of a
physiological response to a stimuli
 Cannon: emotion is a psychological response to a stimuli
 Schacter-Singer: emotion is the result of our evaluation of
our physiological responses, in the light of the whole
situation we are in
 Emotion clearly involves both cognitive and physical
responses to stimuli
Emotion (cont.)
 The biological response to physical stimuli is called
affect

 Affect influences how we respond to situations

 positive  creative problem solving
 negative  narrow thinking

“Negative affect can make it harder to do

even easy tasks; positive affect can make
it easier to do difficult tasks”
(Donald Norman)
Emotion (cont.)
 Implications for interface design
 stress will increase the difficulty of problem
solving
 relaxed users will be more forgiving of
shortcomings in design
 visually pleasing (visually attractive) and
rewarding interfaces will increase positive
affect
Individual differences
 long term
– gender, physical and intellectual abilities
 short term
– effect of stress or fatigue
 changing
– age

Ask yourself:
will design decision exclude section of user population?
Psychology and the Design of
Interactive System
 Some direct applications
 e.g. blue acuity is poor
 blue should not be used for important detail

 However, correct application generally requires understanding of

context in psychology, and an understanding of particular
experimental conditions
SUMMARY
 Today we learnt about,
 MEMORY
 Information stored in memory
 sensory, short-term, long-term
 Information processed and applied
 reasoning, problem solving, skill, error
 Emotion influences human capabilities
 Each person is different

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