In psychology, stimuli are energy patterns which are registered by the senses. In behaviorism and related stimulus–response theories, stimuli constitute the basis for behavior, whereas in perceptual psychology they constitute the basis for perception.[1]
In the second half of the 19th century, the conception had been established by psychophysics, the “scientific study of the relation between stimulus and sensation”,[2] together with the notion of the reflex arc constituting a foundational concept of scientific psychology.[3] While at this time “whatever could be controlled by an experimenter and applied to an observer could be thought of as a stimulus.”[3] In the context of perception, a distinction is made between the distal stimulus (the external, perceived object) and the proximal stimulus (the stimulation of sensory organs).[4]
Helmholtz (1821-1894) and Brunswik (1903-1955) are two scientists who were known for cue theories. Helmholtz held that the visual system constructs visual percepts through a process of unconscious inference, in which cues are used to make probabilistic best guesses about the state of the world. For Helmholtz (and most modern perceptual scientists), a visual percept is the manifestation of this process.
Brunswik formalized Helmholtz’s ideas with the lens model, which breaks the system’s use of a cue into two parts: the ecological validity of the cue, which is its correlation with a property of the world, and the system’s utilization of the cue. In these theories, accurate perception requires both the existence of cues with sufficiently high ecological validity to make inference possible, and that the system actually utilizes these cues in an appropriate fashion during the construction of percepts.
In a nutshell, visual cues are elements of a design that communicate its purpose and method of use. Common cues have developed over time out of repetitive use, natural association with other cues, and common sense (or the minds natural processes). These cues are vital to the success of a product. If a person is confused by the cues he/she is left to read pages of instructions. If the cues are wrong he/she will feel betrayed and put-off. If they are obvious, descriptive, and accurate the individual will enjoy their natural like experience.
Have you ever entered a public building and pushed on a door, then realize after your face smacks the glass you were suppose to pull? Usually, you feel kind of dumb and look around to make sure no one noticed, but most likely this could have been a result of poor cues.[5]
1 “Stimulus”. In: Richard L. Gregory (Ed.), The Oxford Companion to the Mind, Oxford, N.Y.: Oxford University Press.
2 Gescheider, G. (1997). Psychophysics: the fundamentals (3rd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. p. ix. ISBN 080582281X.
3 a b Gibson, James J. (1960): “The Concept of the Stimulus in Psychology”. American Psychologist, 15, pp. 694–703, here p.694.
4 http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology/07/e07glossary.html
5 http://robjensendesign.com/2009/04/designing-visual-cues/
I believe design should make the world better. It should serve people.
It should make things stronger, faster, clearer—and cheaper. It
should surprise. It should engage. It should delight.
I believe design is a collaborative process. In that sense, design is
political. It is a sort of discussion. And the designer’s role is to help
facilitate the discussion. The traditional tools of drawing and prototyping
are remarkably helpful in this role. Sometimes the subject of
the discussion is abstract. In such times, designers must be able
to prototype abstractions—they must be able to create models,
which are simply tools for thinking.
I believe designers should root their work in the context of its
use. We must understand our audience. Who are they? What do
they believe? What do they want? At the same time, we must
understand the economic systems and technologies which make
products possible. All three equations—audience, business, and
technology—must be solved simultaneously.
A concept map is a picture of our understanding of something. It is a diagram illustrating how sets of concepts are related. Concept maps are made up of webs of terms (nodes) related by verbs (links) to other terms (nodes). The purpose of a concept map is to represent (on a single visual plane) a person’s mental model of a concept.
Concept maps provide a useful contrast with essays. With a concept map, a viewer can see both the forest and individual trees. The big picture is clear because all the ideas are presented on one surface. At the same time, it’s easy to see details and how they relate.
Examples and a good description such as those described by Gowan and Novak (in Learning How to Learn) are helpful for understanding concept mapping. An exercise in which you make a simple concept map (with eight to 12 terms) may also be helpful.
The first step in concept mapping is to generate lists of words related to the main concept. The list can come from research, reading, experts, brainstorming, or any other source. Sharing lists from members of a development team will help generate other words.
The second step is to edit the list. Some terms may be related to the subject, but not in a way that meets the project goals.
The third step is to define the terms on the edited list. This is particularly important with unfamiliar or technical terms. But it also helps with familiar terms, too.
A useful exercise is to create a matrix listing all the terms down one side and repeating the list across the top. The relationship between the terms is noted in the boxes where a row and column intersect. The resulting matrix of relationships provides a checklist for building the concept map.
Another important step is ranking of the terms. Simple “triage” may be sufficient. Some terms are key to defining the concept. Others are clearly details. Some fall in the middle. The ranking provides a way to begin to look at building a structure. Primary terms may be candidates for an armature sentence.
One approach is to ground the primary concept within a sentence that also contains the other two or three most important terms. A first sentence might set context; a second sentence might define the main term branching out at 90 degrees from the first sentence. The armature sentence provides a starting point for the map. From there, you can add secondary terms and then the details.
Another approach, is to look for a structure or model to underlie the concept map. For example, brand is a type of sign. Signs have three components. Those three components become the anchor points of the concept map. Innovation is a process which repeats, oscillating between convention and innovation. The process provides a structure for the concept map.
Making a concept map in an area that is well defined is sometimes fairly easy — if the information space can easily be found and if most authorities agree on it. For more ambiguous topics, a great deal of time may be needed to agree on scope (which terms are in or out) and on structure (how those terms relate). This process can take several weeks or even several months.
Once the terms and structure are agreed to, you can move to a second phase: giving the map an appropriate typographic form — to make the typographic hierarchy support the structure of the content.
Main steps in creating concept maps:
List terms
Edit the list
Define the remaining terms
Create a matrix showing the relations of terms
Rank the terms
Decide on main branches or write framing sentences
Fill in the rest of the structure
Revise
Apply typography to reinforce structure
Revise The Dubberly Design Office (DDO)
Web-Hipre, a software tool used for Multiple Criteria Decision Making with discrete alternatives. The tool, developed at the Helsinki University of Technology, offers a variety of options for the analysis, including the Analytical Hierarch Process (AHP), Smart, Swing, among others.