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Human Factors Engineering Flashcards

7 cards from real CEA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

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  1. A control-display ratio (C/D ratio) that is too high will most likely result in:

    Answer: Sluggish response requiring excessive control movement

    A high C/D ratio means a large control movement produces a small display change, making the system feel sluggish and requiring excessive physical effort for coarse positioning.

  2. The 'magical number 7 ± 2' principle, attributed to George Miller, relates to limitations in:

    Answer: Short-term/working memory capacity

    Miller's 1956 paper demonstrated that short-term memory can hold approximately 7 ± 2 chunks of information simultaneously.

  3. Which type of human error involves executing the correct plan but performing the wrong action due to habit or inattention?

    Answer: Slip

    A slip occurs when intentions are correct but execution fails, often due to automatic behavior overriding intentional control.

  4. The GOMS model in human factors is primarily used to:

    Answer: Predict expert user performance time for cognitive tasks

    GOMS (Goals, Operators, Methods, Selection rules) predicts expert task completion time by modeling the cognitive and motor steps required.

  5. Ecological interface design (EID) is specifically intended to help operators:

    Answer: Perceive system constraints and relationships directly from the interface

    EID maps the work domain's physical and functional constraints onto the interface so operators can perceive system state without abstract interpretation.

  6. When evaluating a visual display, which principle states that elements close together are perceived as belonging to the same group?

    Answer: Proximity

    The Gestalt principle of proximity states that spatially close elements are perceptually grouped together, influencing how operators scan and interpret displays.

  7. In dual-task experiments, the psychological refractory period (PRP) refers to the delay in responding to a second stimulus because:

    Answer: Central processing of the first task blocks processing of the second

    The PRP occurs because humans have a central processing bottleneck; the cognitive response-selection stage for the second task must wait until the first is complete.