Module 2: Cognition and User Expectations
Overview of Module 2/Week 2 of Class (Part 2 of 3)
Schemas and Expectations
Schemas are one mechanism the human brain uses to store, manage, and access large amounts of data effectively. Schemas combine many of the experiences one has with a particular item into a single unit for mental processing. Consider the following example: If I you hear or read the word “pen,” what do you think of? Certainly what the item (i.e., a pen) looks like, but your mind also accesses images of what you do with a pen (e.g., writing, taking notes, taking an exam, etc.), locations where a pen is used (e.g., classroom, office, etc.), materials associated with using a pen (e.g., paper, notebook, etc.), and properties of a pen (e.g., permanent writing, colors of ink, kinds of pen – such as ballpoint, roller, etc.).
How can your mind access and hold these different bits of information at one time? Because all of them have been packaged into a single unit of information – a schema – that your brain stores, recalls, and processes as a single, unified item (or a series of interconnected items) vs. individual factors that each must be processes independently of the others. This packaging allows the mind to process large amounts of different information efficiently.
Schemas and Usability
Schemas have important usability implications. My schema for “pen” tells me where pens are used and how. Whenever I encounter – or expect to encounter – a pen, my ability to use it (or think of how it can be used) is usually limited by what my schema for pen tells me pens can be used for. So, for example, if my schema for pen contains “writing” as something pens can be used to do, then I know how to use instructions that expect me to use a pen for writing. If, however, a set of instructions asks me to use a pen in a way that I’ve not encountered before (e.g., using a pen as an emergency medical device use to open a clogged airway on a choking victim), then confusion will likely happen as my schema for “pen” does not include such a use, and I don’t know how to act on this new information.
The result is a mental “sticking” as I wait to receive the information I need to understand how to use a pen in this previously un-experienced way. Individual who create materials for using a pen in this new way (i.e., as a medical device) need to provide me with information on how to perform such processes. Such information must
Schema Formation and Modification
These schemas do not arise randomly. They are created by repeated exposure over time. For example, the more often I see a pen used as a tool for writing, the stronger the link between writing and pen become in my schema for pen. The stronger the connection, the easier it becomes for me to reflexively view pens as writing utensils over time.
Conversely, if I rarely see a pen used as a medical device over time, the less likely I will reflexively view it as a tool used in certain medical contexts due to a lack of re-enforcement of such use over time. These factors mean the environments where we live and grow up affect the schemas we use to navigate through our daily lives.
Schemas, however, are not fixed. They can be modified over time due to exposure and learning. So, once I learn a pen can be used as a medical device, I can take steps to learn more about that use. I can also practice using a pen in that way – and the more I learn and practice this function of “pen,” the stronger that association for pen becomes in my related schema until it becomes easier for me to use a pen that way.
Schemas, Usability, and Design
For individuals working in usability, the objective is to understand the schemas an audience has for an item and then
Alternatively, if the item is completely new (i.e., has never been seen or used before), then one needs to
In these ways, schemas can help individuals understand, anticipate, and address the expectations of different audiences and design items that fit into the existing schemas an audience might have for a particular activity.
For Consideration
In this module, we will examine these cognitive mechanisms to understand how they affect audience expectations of usability in a particular setting. As you review the readings and videos for this module, consider
Next Part -- Prototypes and Scripts
Back to -- Overview of Cognition and Expectations
Schemas are one mechanism the human brain uses to store, manage, and access large amounts of data effectively. Schemas combine many of the experiences one has with a particular item into a single unit for mental processing. Consider the following example: If I you hear or read the word “pen,” what do you think of? Certainly what the item (i.e., a pen) looks like, but your mind also accesses images of what you do with a pen (e.g., writing, taking notes, taking an exam, etc.), locations where a pen is used (e.g., classroom, office, etc.), materials associated with using a pen (e.g., paper, notebook, etc.), and properties of a pen (e.g., permanent writing, colors of ink, kinds of pen – such as ballpoint, roller, etc.).
How can your mind access and hold these different bits of information at one time? Because all of them have been packaged into a single unit of information – a schema – that your brain stores, recalls, and processes as a single, unified item (or a series of interconnected items) vs. individual factors that each must be processes independently of the others. This packaging allows the mind to process large amounts of different information efficiently.
Schemas and Usability
Schemas have important usability implications. My schema for “pen” tells me where pens are used and how. Whenever I encounter – or expect to encounter – a pen, my ability to use it (or think of how it can be used) is usually limited by what my schema for pen tells me pens can be used for. So, for example, if my schema for pen contains “writing” as something pens can be used to do, then I know how to use instructions that expect me to use a pen for writing. If, however, a set of instructions asks me to use a pen in a way that I’ve not encountered before (e.g., using a pen as an emergency medical device use to open a clogged airway on a choking victim), then confusion will likely happen as my schema for “pen” does not include such a use, and I don’t know how to act on this new information.
The result is a mental “sticking” as I wait to receive the information I need to understand how to use a pen in this previously un-experienced way. Individual who create materials for using a pen in this new way (i.e., as a medical device) need to provide me with information on how to perform such processes. Such information must
- Address the fact I have no previous understanding of what I have been asked to do
- Include information on what to do, how to do it, and define terms related to these processes
- How pens are used for writing
- What properties allow pens to be used in this way
- With what one must use when writing with a pen (e.g., surface to write on)
- How to hold and move the pen in order to write
- How to check the results of one’s actions to make sure writing was effectively achieved
Schema Formation and Modification
These schemas do not arise randomly. They are created by repeated exposure over time. For example, the more often I see a pen used as a tool for writing, the stronger the link between writing and pen become in my schema for pen. The stronger the connection, the easier it becomes for me to reflexively view pens as writing utensils over time.
Conversely, if I rarely see a pen used as a medical device over time, the less likely I will reflexively view it as a tool used in certain medical contexts due to a lack of re-enforcement of such use over time. These factors mean the environments where we live and grow up affect the schemas we use to navigate through our daily lives.
Schemas, however, are not fixed. They can be modified over time due to exposure and learning. So, once I learn a pen can be used as a medical device, I can take steps to learn more about that use. I can also practice using a pen in that way – and the more I learn and practice this function of “pen,” the stronger that association for pen becomes in my related schema until it becomes easier for me to use a pen that way.
Schemas, Usability, and Design
For individuals working in usability, the objective is to understand the schemas an audience has for an item and then
- Design materials to address such schema-based expectations
- Provide the information needed to understand (and use) that item according to a new method for using it (See http://web.mst.edu/~rhall/web_design/web_objects.html)
Alternatively, if the item is completely new (i.e., has never been seen or used before), then one needs to
- Determine how that new item might fit into an existing schema individuals have for how to act in a context
- Design the new item to fit into those existing schemas and explain the new items use in that context
- Identify where the members of the audience would usually take photos with a conventional camera
- Explain how the new phone could be used – like a camera – in such contexts
In these ways, schemas can help individuals understand, anticipate, and address the expectations of different audiences and design items that fit into the existing schemas an audience might have for a particular activity.
For Consideration
In this module, we will examine these cognitive mechanisms to understand how they affect audience expectations of usability in a particular setting. As you review the readings and videos for this module, consider
- How cognitive mechanisms connect to ideas of usability and user experience design examined in module 1 of class
- How cognitive factors can help individuals address usability – including guiding user-testing practices
- How easy or difficult it might be to integrate cognitive models into the usability testing and user experience design
- If individuals need particular training or background to apply cognitive mechanisms in usability-related contexts
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Back to -- Overview of Cognition and Expectations
Other Module 2/Week 2 Materials
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