Chapter 6

Language and Communication

ENP 0162

Fall 2017
Pursuit and Saccade Eye Movements
Pursuit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqCgzSSwPLk

Saccade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig76-rzPkc8

How we read:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwNNij89qro
Word Perception (Visual)
Perception can be a Dynamic Process

Both top-down and bottom-

up processes happening
Word superiority effect
Examples
I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the
icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it
dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht
the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can
sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey
ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot
slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too.

Move the lever to the rxxxx

Unitization
Learned by association
Become automatic
Hard to unlearn

Some recommendations:
Use consistent rules for abbreviations
Capital letters (majuscule) can be used for key words
Mixed case is better for general instructions
Tall Man lettering for highlighting differences
cefUROXime vs cefTAZIDime
Be conservative with kerning (spacing between letters)
Be liberal with line height
Recommendation from Zipfs Law
Zipfs Law
Basically, frequently used words are short and infrequent ones are long

Low probability (high information) messages should be LONG

High probability (low information) messages should be SHORT
Icons
Concreteness
Relation to real-life object
Visual Complexity
Level of detail
Semantic Distance
Relation between icon and
meaning
Familiarity to user

Make sure that the meaning of the

icon is understandable
Make sure it is not MISunderstandable
(confusable)
Auditory Icons, Earcons, & Spearcons
Auditory Icons
http://sonification.de/handbook/index.php/chapters/chapter13/

Earcons
http://sonification.de/handbook/index.php/chapters/chapter14/

Spearcons
http://sonification.de/handbook/index.php/chapters/chapter2/
Guidelines for Instructions
Keep the audience in mind
Adopt an appropriate style and tone
Use logical organization
Be as concrete as possible
Use pronouns when appropriate
Try to use verbs instead of nouns
Consider the following vs. Take into consideration
Keep grammatical constructions simple and straightforward
Use ordinary work order (i.e., subject-verb-object)
Avoid passive voice
Mistakes were made
Avoid negatives when possible
Check to see that the power is off vs. Check to see that the power is not on
Bonus: Word Order
Instructions Example
Product Warnings
ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Z.535
1. Signal Word
Example: Caution, warning, danger
2. Statement of the nature of the product
Example: Toxic Material
3. Instruction statement
Example: Use a respirator when using the product
4. Consequence statement
Example: Could cause death if inhaled
Warning Compliance
Warnings must be:
Noticed
Read
Understood
Safety
Explicit explanations
Calibrate language with severity
Obeyed
What is the cost of compliance?
Production
Units of Speech Perception
Phonemes
Basic sounds
Syllables
Phoneme + phoneme
Consonant + vowel
Words
Non-Verbal Communication
Visualizing the mouth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzo45hWXRWU
Top-down vs. bottom up processing
Nonverbal cues
Disambiguity
Shared knowledge of action

FaceTime vs. text messages? What is different?

Crew Resource Management (CRM)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTZBZqdUGqI

What happened?
Assignment Due 11/16
This is an INDIVIDUAL assignment (i.e., no team)
1. Find a product in that you know well that has the ability to cause severe
harm
2. Conduct a task analysis for the basic/typical use case for the product
1. Example: Using the microwave to cook something for 2 minutes
3. Using the textbook and two warnings chapters (on Trunk) as your guide:
1. Write a short instruction manual that describes how complete the selected task
2. Provide at least one danger/warning/caution in your instructions
3. Include one or more figures of the product (can be crappy, hand drawn images) as
part of your instructions
4. Turn in via Trunk