Unit 7: People Are Social Animals

I wasn't surprised by the information presented in this chapter. I've often observed social behavior in public - people in grocery stores stand in front of you, for instance or engage in conversation. Ever get stopped on a highway because of an accident? I have - in Florida - we all got out of our cars and communicated with one another about what could be happening. Social behavior might even explain the cell phone obsession as well - the constant need to stay in touch with those in our "tribe."

As with previous chapters, the author presents the information in a very succinct manner and I really enjoy the correlations she uses with each bullet point. Shortly after reading this chapter I was flipping through channels and stopped on Searching for Bigfoot, mostly out of curiosity that folks are spending their time and energy on a subject that comes from folklore. The interesting thing was the recounting of a "witness" who says he saw Bigfoot in his bedroom window and when he went to the window Bigfoot imitated his facial expressions. The host explains that this is typical behavior for Bigfoot(s?) - they're very curious. Although the whole scene was like watching a play, it made me think of #64, People are Hard-Wired for Imitation and Empathy where the author addresses mirror neurons. Mirror Neurons began in infancy and are shared by other species - it's when we mimic the other person's facial expressions and recent theories suggest it may be how we empathize with another person - these neurons seem to sync when a person or audience is focused on the speaker. This bleeds into the topic of synchronous activity - when groups perform a ritual together they bond. Kind of like a collective or hive. For me it's synonymous with church rituals or cults!

Dunbar’s Number: "We are the product of our evolutionary history and this colours our everyday lives - including the number of friends we can have. Robin Dunbar, Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford, says 150 is the maximum number of friendships that the human mind is capable of handling. 'Dunbar's number', as it is known, even applies to the Facebook generation. Professor Dunbar concludes that the volume of the neocortex region of our brain, used for language and thought, limits the number of friends we can maintain. He argues this number has not changed much throughout history and applies in the same way on the web as it does in real life."  - excerpts from the University of Oxford's book review How Many Friends Does One Person Need.

The bullet point that was especially poignant to me was #70, Laughter Bonds People Together. A few days prior to reading this chapter, I had just attended "Jump Start" with a group of web students from AIS. A small group of us met before and after the event and shared stories and laughter over food and drinks. Driving home afterwards - it's an hour drive for me - I reflected on our time together, thinking of the stories we shared and feeling happy about the evening and noticed that I was genuinely smiling. You can't fake a genuine smile, you really can't. People know, they see it in your eyes, your forehead, your cheek muscles, even your whole body posture. It's more obvious in person as well as videos, but lesser so in photos. In a psychology class at AIS we took a test, on BBC Science & Nature, and tried to guess if the person was really smiling - we got a few wrong!

Demonstration of the mechanics
of facial expression. Duchenne and
an assistant faradizethe mimetic
muscles of  "The Old Man."

Duchenne smile: Guillaume Duchenne was a French doctor who experimented with electrical currents to see which muscles controlled a genuine smile. He discovered that there were two major muscle groups: the zygomatic which raises the corners of the mouth; and, the orbicularis oculi muscle which raises the cheeks and makes the eyes crinkle. "Smiles that contract both of these muscles groups are called Duchenne smiles" - from #71, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People.

P3 Schedule

Week 6: Research and tutorials

Week 7: Rough sketches in Photoshop - get the feel of drawing with pen in Photoshop.

Week 8: Import first half of video and begin rotoscoping

Week 9:  Import second half of video and rotoscope

Week 10: Preliminary Critique. Add titles and polish in AfterEffects for final.

Week 11: Final due

Unit 6: What Motivates People

With #50, People Get Motivated as They Get Closer to a Goal,  I was reminded of my Taco del Mar punch card - it's the one I get the most satisfaction from. I have other cards but they're really just taking up space in my wallet. I think it's ironic that with my Taco del Mar card I get really excited when I earn the $5 reward - and in reality I've spent $5 ten times to earn the $5 reward! However, it is obtainable and I get another card when I redeem my award, so it keeps on giving. In addition, since food is a basic necessity I'm most likely to use it.

#51 - Variable Rewards are Powerful. I get the overall concept of the reward scenario but wasn't totally sold on the author's take. However, I did find an article online that drives it home for web designers, Want to Hook Your Users? In the article, by Nir Eyal, she speaks of desire engines and links it to dopamine:  "Humans, like the mice in Skinner’s box, crave predictability and struggle to find patterns, even when none exist. Variability is the brain’s cognitive nemesis and our minds make deduction of cause and effect a priority over other functions like self-control and moderation." Many of the points in Eyal's articles reinforces and correlates to 100 Things.

Maybe I'm simple-minded, but using the terms intrinsic and extrinsic in #54 just didn't stick for me. I get stuck on the definition of the terms rather than focusing on the concept. Livestrong.com (one of my favorite websites) has a great article on the subject, The Difference Between Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation... "If you understand the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors, you have a greater probability of motivating yourself or others. Every behavior has a underlying cause, and understanding the cause of behavior and motivating factors is key to changing or improving outcomes. The differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators primarily lie within the reason for doing something. In order for you to ultimately change or improve behavior, you have to understand the reason for the behavior." That I get!

One of the pages I dog-eared in this chapter was page 27, #55 People Are Motivated by Progress, Mastery and Control, simply because I wanted to look up Daniel Pink's book, Drive. I watched the video mentioned in the book, The surprising truth about what motivates us" and really enjoyed it. Not only are the illustrations fascinating but they drive home the points that Pink makes and adds humor for the audience to engage and remember. In reference to rewards Pink states in his video, "For simple, straight forward task, if you do this then you get that, they're great. But when a task gets complicated, when it requires some conceptual, creative thinking, they simple do not work. If you want engagement self-directed is better (in the workplace)." Pink's video addresses autonomy, mastery, that we're "purpose maxi-misers" and self-motivated.

Unfortunately the Marshmallow Experiment video is no longer available on youtube due to a copyright infringement issue, but can be found instead at Igniter Media. Love it - you can see the kids struggle on their faces! Gratification delay starts young - so obvious with the red-headed little girl who eats the marshmallow instantly vs. the boy who waits enduringly for the gratification of getting a second marshmallow. Wouldn't it be great if everyone took this test at an early age and we knew what type of person we (or they) were?

Unit 5: How People Focus Their Attention

• Attention is selective: if a person is given a directive before reading text their focus will be on the direction given, "read only the bold text in this paragraph," for example. Selective Attention can filter out other stimuli and focus on the task at hand. Don't expect this focused attention to last too long however.  Of particular note is what humans inherently focus on: food, sex and danger. The author points out that selective attention is a genetic inheritance from days gone by where we needed food to survive, had to watch for danger to survive, and sex to continue our race.
• Sounds can gain attention but should only be used for alerts. When a sound or behavior is repeated, a user will become accustomed to it and ignore it.
• Sustained attention can only last 10 minutes.
• Mental Model of Frequency: signal if it's infrequent or important. Like sounds an indicator that is stressing importance should be used for alerts.
• People do not multitask.

Hotlinks
Signal Detection Theory
Only 2% of People can Multitask Successfully - Infographic
Humans Have Three Brains

Unit 4: How People Think

Overall I found this chapter very intriguing. I've dog-eared a few of the pages for future exploration, such as reading Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug. In many ways the bullet points in this chapter are common sense but the author gives further introspective and relates case studies for each point.

Progressive disclosure: giving information in small chunks and progressively allowing the user to click for detailed information. While this may add more clicks, if the information is presented in the right way the user won't even notice the amount of clicks as they "progress" through the information. It gives overview information up front, broader information on one click and even more detailed information on another click, allowing the user to decide how much they want to explore.

Loads: mental processes going on simultaneously. There are three types: cognitive, visual, and motor. Cognitive requires the greatest mental resource, with visual and motor following in sequential order. If you ask a user to remember something, you've engaged their "visual" load; looking at something on the screen, "visual;" and a "motor" resource is asking a user to click on something. Designing a website requires a fine balance of loads so that one load isn't over - "loading" the user.

I love #29, "minds wander 30 percent of the time!" It makes me feel so much better about daydreaming in elementary and high school. However, the author focus on this point was "mind wandering." Mind wandering is when someone is focused on a task, for example driving, but is able to use another part of the brain to process information, i.e. when should I stop for gas, make an appointment, etc. 

Mental vs. Conceptual Models: a mental model is what a person perceives in their mind about an object, a visual representation; whereas, a conceptual model is the actual object, device, or user interface presented to a person. A designer needs to be aware of both these models to understand how users respond and interact to a product. If a user has a strong mental model of an interface, for example, but is presented with a conceptual model that is "beyond the norm" than this would result in confusion and frustration to the user.

Step by step instructions are a great tool, but interspersing them with graphic examples are the best way to engage a user.

"People love to categorize," so true! The author points out that children don't really start to group things until they're seven years old but that humans have an inherent ability to categorize things. We look for certain patterns that we're familiar with to understand elements. If a structure isn't present than we organize them ourselves.

Now #37 was the most interesting to me: four ways to be creative:

• deliberate and cognitive: comes from sustained work in a discipline, uses the prefrontal cortex, makes connections among bits of information you've stored in other parts of your brain.
• deliberate and emotional: "aha" moments sparked by stressful or life-changing events. The deliberate part uses the prefrontal cortex, the emotional part uses the amygdala where feelings are stored and the cingulate cortex that deals with complex feelings. The cingulate cortex is connected to the prefrontal cortex.
• spontaneous and cognitive: kind of like "sleeping on it" or "percolating" as I like to call it. It's when you are so focused on something that you can't solve the problem. But taking a break from it consciously allows your subconscious to take over. It uses the basal ganglia of the brain where dopamine is stored. Its the part of the brain that operates outside of your conscious awareness but requires an existing body of knowledge.
• spontaneous and emotional: comes from the amygdala where basic emotions are processed. This is the type of creativity that musicians and artist possess. No specific knowledge base is required but great skill is needed.

More on dompamine:

Creativity is the human capital one often says, especially in times of economic crises. And yet, very little is known about how creativity works (Sternberg, Kaufman,& Pretz, 2002), which severely limits our possibilities to systematically develop that capital. To a substantial degree the lack of convergent theorizing on creativity has to do with disagreements on how to define it (by the processesunderlying creativity vs. the products it brings about) and how to measure it (see Brown, 1989; Runco, 2007). Moreover, there is increasing evidence that truly creative acts do not reflect the operation of just one process, brain area, or faculty but, rather, the interplay of multiple cognitive processes and neural networks (e.g., Dietrich, 2004; Eysenck, 1993; Heilman, 2005). This raises the question of how this interplay is orchestrated, and there are reasons to believe that the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) plays an important role in that. [Source: Cognition] 

Goal gradient effect: examples include punch cards, "breadcrumbs" on websites. Giving the user an "illusion of progress" (Susan Weinschenk's blog). Also referred to as "flow state," it's when a person forgets everything else and is focused on the task at hand. To achieve this state requires: focused attention, achievable goal, constant feedback, control, safe environment, personal state of mind. I often enter a "flow" state when I'm coding websites. I lose all sense of time and can spend hours on a project and not even realize it. My safe environments are at home and at school. Every action I take in code gives me instant feedback when viewed on a web browser. The goal gradient effect is cross-cultural and uses the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia.

Operant Condition: coined by behaviorist B.F. Skinner, referred to operant as "active behavior that operates upon the environment to generate consequences" (Skinner). It's the learned behaviors we acquire every day. Reward and punishment- type scenarios. Good behavior reaps rewards and bad behavior reaps consequences.

Responsive Design Workshop

What Is Responsive Design and Why Should You Care?
Graphic Artists Guild Workshop
February 27
EAFA Gallery at the Seattle Design Center, Suite 292
$10

Contest Information

The Creativity 43 Media & Interactive Competition begins accepting entries January 18, 2013 and the deadline is April 11, 2013.

Media & Interactive Entry Fees are $95 per single entry, $125 per campaign entry. All Film & Video entries are $125 ea. Students receive a $50 discount on all entry fees.

Ad agencies, publishers, developers, graphic designers, photographers, freelance designers, illustrators, programmers, marketers, producers, directors, web designers and corporate art departments may submit entries that first appeared online or was broadcast between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012 (Media & Interactive) or in print between June 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013 (Print & Packaging) (void where prohibited). Student work must have been created during the 2012-2013 school year. Instructors and professors may submit work on behalf of a student. Student work will be evaluated separately from professional work. Anyone involved with the creation of the advertisement or design work may submit the entry.

For Internet/Interactive Media please submit url addresses. Judging will be done online using the url whenever possible so please ensure the link is active and does not require any username or passwords for access. If usernames/passwords are unavoidable, please include in the "url" line of the entry form. Dead or unusable links will disqualify the entry. 

Laser Cutting Session

This was definitely worthwhile to attend. It's so exciting to know that we have this resource at school. I'm itching to create something that I can "print" on it! I'm thinking something for portfolio day.

Thesis Meeting with Tony

I met with Tony regarding my senior thesis and cumulative project to accompany it. My ideas were:

1. Flash is Gone, Now HTML5 and project would incorporate HTML5 elements
2. Consumerism vs. Sustainability, project would be a website displaying a company's involvement in sustainability
3. Future of Digital Media - OTT, a website, app and TV program that interact and support the product

The final outcome was #3 as my focus for senior thesis. It is one that will challenge my skills, demonstrate knowledge of branding, and can incorporate Ideas 1 and 2 in it. I'm looking forward to working on this.

P1 Final

Justifying Parallax Scrolling

Two of my colleagues at school questioned the use of parallax scrolling. I came across an article, "Parallax Scrolling Scripts and Plugins" by Louis Lazarus at Impressive Webs,  that I think substantiates its use. Lazarus includes links to scripts and plug-ins and says, "I think this type of site is certainly a legitimate design and development option for many brands."

I feel that the increased use of mobile design - with its finger scrolling - substantiates parallax scrolling. It has the added benefit of allowing the user to keep their cursor in one spot and scroll, rather than hopping over to a menu and clicking.