ITSM University of Computer Studies HCI

Human–Computer Interaction

Chapter 1
The Human

Human–Computer Interaction Group

Department of Information Technology Supporting and Maintenance

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ITSM Outlines HCI

1. Human
1.2 Input-Output Channels
1.2.1 Vision
1.2.2 Hearing
1.2.3 Touch
1.2.4 Movement
1.3 Memory
1.3.1 Sensory memory
1.3.2 Short-term memory (STM)
1.3.3 Long-term memory (LTM)

1.4 Thinking
1.4.1 Reasoning
1.4.2 Problem solving
1.4.4 Errors and mental models
1.5 Emotion
1.6 Individual differences
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ITSM Objectives HCI

• To understand the human memory and how it works

• To know the human’s input-output channels, the senses, and responders
• To recognize how humans solve complex problems.

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ITSM Learning Outcomes HCI

• This chapter explored aspects of human capabilities and behavior of

which the context of human -computer interaction.

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ITSM Introduction HCI

• This chapter, in which we discuss the foundations of HCI.

Humans are the central character in any discussion of interactive
systems.
• Therefore, discuss the three components of this system:
input-output, memory and processing.

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ITSM The Human HCI

1.2 Input-Output Channels

• Information i/o …
– visual, auditory, haptic, movement
• 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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ITSM The Human HCI

1.2.1 Vision

Two stages in vision

• physical reception of stimulus

• processing and interpretation of stimulus

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ITSM The Human HCI

The Eye - physical reception

• mechanism for receiving light and transforming it into electrical
energy
• light reflects from objects
• images are focused upside-down on retina
• retina contains rods for low light vision and cones for colour
vision
• ganglion cells (brain!) detect pattern and movement

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ITSM The Human HCI

Interpreting the signal

• Size and depth
₋ visual angle indicates how much of view object occupies
(relates to size and distance from eye)
₋ visual acuity is ability to perceive detail (limited)
₋ familiar objects perceived as constant size
(in spite of changes in visual angle when far away)
₋ cues like overlapping help perception of size and depth

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ITSM The Human HCI

Interpreting the signal (cont)

• Brightness
– subjective reaction to levels of light
– affected by luminance of object
– measured by just noticeable difference
– visual acuity increases with luminance as does flicker

• Colour
– made up of hue, intensity, saturation
– cones sensitive to colour wavelengths
– blue acuity is lowest
– 8% males and 1% females colour blind
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ITSM The Human HCI

Interpreting the signal (cont)

• The visual system compensates for:

– movement
– changes in luminance.

• Context is used to resolve ambiguity

• Optical illusions sometimes occur due to over compensation

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ITSM HCI

Reading

• Several stages:
– visual pattern perceived
– decoded using internal representation of language
– interpreted using knowledge of syntax, semantics, pragmatics

• Reading involves saccades and fixations

• Perception occurs during fixations
• Word shape is important to recognition
• Negative contrast improves reading from computer screen

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ITSM HCI

1.2.2 Hearing
• Provides information about environment:
distances, directions, objects etc.
• Physical apparatus:-outer ear–protects inner and amplifies sound
- middle ear–transmits sound waves as vibrations to inner ear
-inner ear–chemical transmitters are released
and cause impulses in auditory nerve
• Sound: -pitch– sound frequency
- loudness – amplitude
- timbre– type or quality
• Humans can hear frequencies from 20Hz to 15kHz
– less accurate distinguishing high frequencies than low.
• Auditory system filters sounds
– can attend to sounds over background noise.
– for example, the cocktail party phenomenon.

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ITSM HCI

1.2.3 Touch
• Provides important feedback about environment.
• May be key sense for someone who is visually impaired.
• Stimulus received via receptors in the skin:
– thermoreceptors – heat and cold
– nociceptors – pain
– mechanoreceptors – pressure
(some instant, some continuous)
• Some areas more sensitive than others e.g. fingers.
• Kinethesis - awareness of body position
– affects comfort and performance.

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ITSM HCI

1.2.4 Movement
• Time taken to respond to stimulus:
reaction time + movement time

• Movement time dependent on age, fitness etc.

• Reaction time - dependent on stimulus type:

– visual ~ 200ms
– auditory ~ 150 ms
– pain ~ 700ms

• Increasing reaction time decreases accuracy in the unskilled operator

but not in the skilled operator.

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ITSM HCI

Movement (cont)
• Fitts' Law describes the time taken to hit a screen target:

Mt = a + b log2(D/S + 1)

where: a and b are empirically determined constants

Mt is movement time
D is Distance
S is Size of target

Þ targets as large as possible

distances as small as possible
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ITSM HCI

1.3 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.

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ITSM HCI

1.3.1 sensory memory

• Buffers for stimuli received through senses
– iconic memory: visual stimuli
– echoic memory: aural stimuli
– haptic memory: tactile stimuli
• Examples
– “sparkler” trail
– stereo sound
• Continuously overwritten

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ITSM HCI

1.3.2 Short-term memory (STM)

• Scratch-pad for temporary recall

– rapid access ~ 70ms

– rapid decay ~ 200ms

– limited capacity - 7± 2 chunks

 Examples

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ITSM HCI

Long-term memory (cont.)

• Semantic memory structure
– provides access to information
– represents relationships between bits of information
– supports inference

• Model: semantic network

– inheritance – child nodes inherit properties of parent nodes
– relationships between bits of information explicit
– supports inference through inheritance

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1.4 Thinking
• Reasoning(deduction, induction, abduction)
• Problem solving

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ITSM HCI

1.4.1 Reasoning
Deductive Reasoning
o Deduction:
– derive logically necessary conclusion from given
premises.
– e.g. If it is Friday then she will go to work
– It is Friday
– Therefore she will go to work.
o Logical conclusion not necessarily true:
– e.g. If it is raining then the ground is dry
– It is raining
– Therefore the ground is dry
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ITSM HCI

Deduction (cont.)
• When truth and logical validity clash …
e.g.Some people are babies
Some babies cry
Inference - Some people cry
Correct?

• People bring world knowledge to bear

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ITSM HCI

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

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ITSM HCI

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

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ITSM HCI

1.4.2 Problem solving

• Process of finding solution to unfamiliar task using knowledge.
•Several theories.
• Gestalt
– problem solving both productive and reproductive
– productive draws on insight and restructuring of problem
– attractive but not enough evidence to explain `insight' etc.
– move away from behaviourism and led towards information processing theories
• Problem space theory
– problem space comprises 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.
– largely applied to problem solving in well-defined areas
e.g. puzzles rather than knowledge intensive areas
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ITSM HCI

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

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ITSM HCI

1.4.4 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
– wrong intention
– cause: incorrect understanding
humans create mental models to explain behaviour.
if wrong (different from actual system) errors can occur

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ITSM HCI

1.5 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

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ITSM HCI

1.6 Individual differences

• long term
– sex, physical and intellectual abilities
• short term
– effect of stress or fatigue
• changing
– age

Ask yourself:
will design decision exclude section of user population?

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ITSM Summary HCI

• In this chapter, which considers the human as an information processor,

receiving inputs from the world, storing, manipulating and using

information, and reacting to the information received.

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ITSM Reference HCI

• Alan Dix , Janet Finlay, Gregory D. Abowd, Russell Beale ,(2004),

Human–Computer Interaction,(third edition),Pearson Education Limited

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ITSM Next Lecture HCI

The Computer

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