HFE Exam 1 UPDATED Exam Questions
and CORRECT Answers
What is human factors engineering (HFE)? - CORRECT ANSWER - human factors
discovers and applies information about human behavior, abilities, limitations, and other
characteristics to the design of tools, machines, systems, tasks, jobs, and environments for
productive, safe, comfortable, and effective human use
The goal of human factors is to make the human interaction with systems one that... - CORRECT
ANSWER - - enhances performance
- increases safety
- increases user satisfaction
HFE involves the study of what? - CORRECT ANSWER - the factors and the
development of tools to achieve these goals
What are some responsibilities of a human factors engineer? - CORRECT ANSWER - - be
the expert on what people can and cannot do
- help design the optimal person-machine system
- specify training and educational requirements
- design in such a way that expectations made of the person are reasonable
What are the general steps in the Human Factors Cycle? - CORRECT ANSWER - analyze
the system -> find problems -> implement solutions -> observe how the solution behaves in the
system -> analyze the solution and system -> repeat
What do people do? - CORRECT ANSWER - - sense
- perceive/assume/interpret/think
- teach and learn
- store and retrieve from memory
,- respond
Our sensory abilities do what? - CORRECT ANSWER - extract information from the
environment and convey it to the brain
What challenges are involved with sense? - CORRECT ANSWER - noisy environments,
limited abilities, and too much information
We decide what is present in the environment based largely on what? - CORRECT
ANSWER - our previous experience
What challenge is involved with perceiving, assuming, interpreting, and thinking? - CORRECT
ANSWER - people interpret things differently
What challenge is involved with teaching and learning? - CORRECT ANSWER - it is hard
to control what a person learns
What challenges are involved with storing and retrieving information from memory? -
CORRECT ANSWER - overlearning, improper cues, "forgetting"
What challenges are involved in responding? - CORRECT ANSWER - people tend to
overestimate their abilities, we can only respond so quickly (1/4 of a second)
When does human factors become science? - CORRECT ANSWER - - generalization: can
the results be generalized to a wide range of systems, tasks, or people?
- prediction: can the results be used to predict future outcomes?
How do we evaluate if research in HFE has accomplished the goals of HFE? - CORRECT
ANSWER - - has it enhanced performance?
- has it increased safety?
, - has it increased satisfaction?
What is basic research? - CORRECT ANSWER - generalized to a wide range of tasks,
settings, and people
What is applied research? - CORRECT ANSWER - specific to particular tasks, settings, or
people
What is the relationship between basic and applied research? - CORRECT ANSWER -
there is a continuum between the two
What are independent variables? - CORRECT ANSWER - what you control/what causes a
change
What are dependent variables? - CORRECT ANSWER - the factor being measured; the
outcome
What are confounding variables? - CORRECT ANSWER - extraneous variables that might
mess up the study and that we need to keep an eye on
What are examples of dependent variables we can measure? - CORRECT ANSWER --
attitude and motiviation
- preferences
- knowledge
- emotion
- psychological states
- behavior
- performance (time, errors, other)
and CORRECT Answers
What is human factors engineering (HFE)? - CORRECT ANSWER - human factors
discovers and applies information about human behavior, abilities, limitations, and other
characteristics to the design of tools, machines, systems, tasks, jobs, and environments for
productive, safe, comfortable, and effective human use
The goal of human factors is to make the human interaction with systems one that... - CORRECT
ANSWER - - enhances performance
- increases safety
- increases user satisfaction
HFE involves the study of what? - CORRECT ANSWER - the factors and the
development of tools to achieve these goals
What are some responsibilities of a human factors engineer? - CORRECT ANSWER - - be
the expert on what people can and cannot do
- help design the optimal person-machine system
- specify training and educational requirements
- design in such a way that expectations made of the person are reasonable
What are the general steps in the Human Factors Cycle? - CORRECT ANSWER - analyze
the system -> find problems -> implement solutions -> observe how the solution behaves in the
system -> analyze the solution and system -> repeat
What do people do? - CORRECT ANSWER - - sense
- perceive/assume/interpret/think
- teach and learn
- store and retrieve from memory
,- respond
Our sensory abilities do what? - CORRECT ANSWER - extract information from the
environment and convey it to the brain
What challenges are involved with sense? - CORRECT ANSWER - noisy environments,
limited abilities, and too much information
We decide what is present in the environment based largely on what? - CORRECT
ANSWER - our previous experience
What challenge is involved with perceiving, assuming, interpreting, and thinking? - CORRECT
ANSWER - people interpret things differently
What challenge is involved with teaching and learning? - CORRECT ANSWER - it is hard
to control what a person learns
What challenges are involved with storing and retrieving information from memory? -
CORRECT ANSWER - overlearning, improper cues, "forgetting"
What challenges are involved in responding? - CORRECT ANSWER - people tend to
overestimate their abilities, we can only respond so quickly (1/4 of a second)
When does human factors become science? - CORRECT ANSWER - - generalization: can
the results be generalized to a wide range of systems, tasks, or people?
- prediction: can the results be used to predict future outcomes?
How do we evaluate if research in HFE has accomplished the goals of HFE? - CORRECT
ANSWER - - has it enhanced performance?
- has it increased safety?
, - has it increased satisfaction?
What is basic research? - CORRECT ANSWER - generalized to a wide range of tasks,
settings, and people
What is applied research? - CORRECT ANSWER - specific to particular tasks, settings, or
people
What is the relationship between basic and applied research? - CORRECT ANSWER -
there is a continuum between the two
What are independent variables? - CORRECT ANSWER - what you control/what causes a
change
What are dependent variables? - CORRECT ANSWER - the factor being measured; the
outcome
What are confounding variables? - CORRECT ANSWER - extraneous variables that might
mess up the study and that we need to keep an eye on
What are examples of dependent variables we can measure? - CORRECT ANSWER --
attitude and motiviation
- preferences
- knowledge
- emotion
- psychological states
- behavior
- performance (time, errors, other)
