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104 Chapter 3 Understanding users

The way an interface is designed can greatly affect how well people can perceive, attend,
learn, and remember how to carry out their tasks.
The main benefits of conceptual frameworks and cognitive theories are that they can ex-
plain user interaction and predict user performance.
The conceptual framework of mental models provides a way of conceptualizing the
user's understanding of the system.
Research findings and theories from cognitive psychology need to be carefully reinter-
preted in the context of interaction design to avoid oversimplification and misapplication.

Further reading
MULLET, K., AND SANO, D. (1995) Designing Visual Inter- man provide many key findings and observations about peo-
faces. New Jersey: SunSoft Press. This is an excellent book ple's behavior and their use of artifacts. They are written in
on the do's and don'ts of interactive graphical design. It in- a stimulating and thought-provoking way, using many exam-
cludes many concrete examples that have followed (or not) ples from everyday life to illustrate conceptual issues. He
design principles based on cognitive issues. also presents a number of psychological theories, including
CARROLL, J. (1991) (ed.) Designing Interaction. Cambridge: external cognition, in an easily digestible form.
Cambridge University Press. This edited volume provides a ROGERS, Y., RUTHERFORD, A,, AND BIBBY, P. (1992) (eds.)
good collection of papers on cognitive aspects of interaction Models in the Mind. Orlando: Academic Press. This volume
design. provides a good collection of papers on eliciting, interpret-
ing, and theorizing about mental models in HCI and other
NORMAN, D. (1988) The Psychology of Everyday Things.
New York: Basic Books. domains.
NORMAN, D. (1993) Things that Make Us Smart. Reading, For more on dynalinking and interactivity see
MA: Addison-Wesley. These two early books by Don Nor- www.cogs.susx.ac.uklEC0i