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ICS616 Information Architecture
Instructor: Luz M. Quiroga
Bao Huy Ung
Cognitive Science Applied in IA
Cognitive science is an ambiguous subject. It is the amalgamation of different fields that
span a large variety of disciplines, e.g. psychology, AI, neuroscience, philosophy, humancomputer interaction. At its core, it is essentially the study of the human mind. Each field
explores the mysteries of the human mind from their own perspective. This paper presents a look
at some theories of research that have a strong corollary to information architecture. The ties
between the theories and their applications in information architecture may be subjective, but
there is no denying that some phenomena of the brain are an integral part of our everyday lives.
As we take a closer look at the fields related to IA, we utilize the understanding of the
thinking and reasoning capabilities of the human mind and adjust in our thinking of the layout of
the architecture behind how we should design for users. As an example, let us explore the field
of psychology to gain an understanding of how some of these phenomena work.
Cognitive Psychology
Perceptual Phenomenon
When taking a look at user experience, the color scheme of a website may be well
contrasted, but colors can be skewed by the brain when presented in a different context or
pattern. For example, we look at the checker shadow illusion designed by Edward H. Adelson in
1995[1]. The phenomenon presents a checkerboard pattern (white and gray tiles) with a cylinder
casting a shadow over a portion of the board. The color of the shadowed portion of the white
tiles match the gray tiles of the un-shadowed portion of the board, but the average person will
experience that the two tiles are of different shades. It is only when you take the tiles out of the
context of the board will the users see the difference or in this case the absence of difference.
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Priming Effect
The priming effect is an effect of implicit memory in which exposure to a stimulus
influences responses to a later stimulus. As an example, in an experiment we show subjects
pictures of tables, when asked to complete the words that start with “tab”, a subject is more
likely answer with the word table. This aspect also applies to everyday life. It influences the
behavior on stereotyping. In an experiment conduct by John A. Bargh, subjects were primed
using words related to the stereotype of old people, e.g. Florida, forgetful, wrinkle. Although
these words did not specifically mention “slow”, subjects leaving the test walked slower than
those primed with neutral words[2]. These priming effects may often persist for long periods
when there is reinforcement. It implies stimuli can influence the behavior or mood of subjects.
Priming using please words over rude words can elevate the mood and outlook of users when
viewing a site.
Concepts in Information Architecture
As a concept, it is important to recognize the opportunities to incorporate these principals
into our design architecture. Users have been primed by previous experiences from familiar
websites. If you log into a website and are asked to login, if the login fields are not immediately
in front of you, most users might have an inclination to look toward the top right hand side of the
screen. Our previous experiences influence our expectations and behaviors subconsciously.
When changed, users can often times feel disoriented. With this idea in mind, as a rule of thumb,
we may want to try to keep certain layout aspects such as the location of login, search boxes,
navigation consistent.
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Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt psychology is a field that can be described, as the whole is greater than the sum of
the parts. Gestalt psychology explores the relations and effects on the perception of elements
when put together in a certain way. Sabina Idler, an information designer, discusses the use of
the principals of the gestalt laws to aid the design of the user experience [3]. We will examine
three of the laws presented, e.g. proximity, similarity, and experience. The use of the three laws
in the planning and design of the architecture of a webpage can aid in the usability and increase
aesthetics.
Law of Proximity
The Law of Proximity indicates that elements are perceived as a single unit when they are
close together. Grouping categories together and providing adequate spacing can help separate
information on a webpage rather than requiring the need for tables and borders.
Law of Similarity
The Law of Similarity claims that elements that appear similar are perceived as a single
unit. These characteristics include color, shape, etc. This law can be useful when categorizing
information by media on a website. If you need to group together pictures or a group of videos,
even if they topics may be different, grouped together using the same characteristics such a
uniformed size, a thumbnail, and title text, will group these items together in a relevant field.
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Law of Experience
The Law of Experience explains that users will expect others to use prior knowledge to
understand certain elements. Hvae you eevr run acrsos a senetcne lkie tihs? Most people would
be able to get through the previous sentence without much trouble. People read entire words at a
time by analyzing the shape produced rather than by each individual letters, therefore as long as
the first and last letters are the same, the order of the letters in the middle does not matter [4].
People often overlook spelling errors like the example because we have prior knowledge of the
word; otherwise it is impossible to unscramble a world that you’ve never seen before. Those of
us that are familiar with using the web will know exactly what a button shaped like a house will
do when clicked on or we will seek out the envelope icon when we want to send an email.
Drawing Conclusions
Creative design focusing on users can enhance experiences. By understanding the
mysteries of the mind, we can utilize phenomena and utilize design that caters to the human
mind. This allows us to explore new depths of techniques that draw focus, grab attention, and
provide uniformity and understanding across our websites. Understanding how users perceive
and process visual cues and using it to enhance our information architecture.
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1. Adelson, Edward H. (2005). "Checkershadow Illusion". Retrieved from
http://web.mit.edu/persci/people/adelson/checkershadow_illusion.html
2. Bargh, John A.; Chen, Mark; Burrows, Laura (1996). "Automaticity of Social Behavior:
Direct Effects of Trait Construct and Stereotype Activation on Action". Journal of
and Social Psychology 71 (2). PMID 8765481
3. UIdler, Sabina. (2011). Use Gestalt Laws to Improve Your UX. Designmodo. Retrieved from
http://designmodo.com/use-gestalt-laws-to-improve-your-ux/
4. Larson, Kevin. (2004). The Science of Word Recognition. Microsoft Typography. Retreived
from http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ctfonts/wordrecognition.aspx
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