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An invited article Facilitating human–computer communication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

John B. Black  and
Marc M. Sebrechts
John B. Black*
Affiliation:
Yale University
Marc M. Sebrechts
Affiliation:
Wesleyan university
*
John B. Black, Yale University, Department of Psychology, Box 11A Yale Station, New Haven, Conn. 06520
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Abstract

Basic cognitive psychology can provide guidelines for how to design computer systems that are easy for people to use. Prior knowledge of the real world and natural language affect the way people use computers, so computer systems that are consistent with this prior knowledge are easier for people to use. Providing users with mental models for a computer system will allow them to solve more complex problems and understand sequences of commands better. Computer systems should be flexible to accommodate the individual differences between users, but the complexity of understandable computer systems is constrained by the limited information processing capacity of users. The domain of human–computer communication promises to be a fertile domain for applied tests of cognitive theories.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , May 1981 , pp. 149 - 177
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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