The Psychopathology of Everyday Things by Don Norman

From: Norman, D.A. (1988). The Psychology of Everyday Things. Basic Books, HarperCollins Publishers, pp. 1-33.

"The human mind is exquisitely tailored to make sense of the world. Give it the slightest clue and off it goes, providing explanation, rationalization, understanding" (Norman, pg. 5)

The Frustrations of Everyday Life

Conceptual Models

A model of an object, and a simulation of how it works. Composed of three elements:
Affordance
the perceived and actual properties of a thing; the fundamental properties that determine how the thing could be used.
Constraint
a factor to limit possibilities
Mapping
a set of possible operations

Note: it is not necessary to understand the underlying physics, just the relationship between controls and outcomes (BUT, better understanding is necessary if things go wrong).

"When affordances are taken advantage of, the user knows what to do just by looking [...] Complex things may require explanation but simple things should not. When simple things need pictures, labels or instructions, the design has failed."

The Psychology of Causality: when something happens right after a user action, it appears as though the user has caused that action.

Mental Models

The models people have of themselves, others, the environment, and the things with which they interact: i.e. the conceptual models of things.

Natural Mappings

Taking advantage of physical analogies and cultural standards

Perhaps the most common: the spatial analogy

Make Things Visible

Added functionality generally comes at the cost of added complexity.

Why is the TELEPHONE so Easy to Pick On?

Is it just because the operations are so abstract compared to most physical things?

Is it because of overloading the controls (i.e. 12 buttons to perform dozens of operations)?

Is it because of the lack of feedback?

What is at Stake?

Why are we not so bothered by the problems with balance and fade on car stereos?

Is it true what he says, "The world is permeated with small examples of good designs, with the amazing details that make important differences on our lives. Each detail was added by some person, a designer, carefully thinking through the uses of the device, the ways that people abuse things, the kinds of errors that can get made, and the functions that people wish performed."

Why does it take five or six attempts to get a product right?

Is there a design blacklist?