a subfield of human factors psychology concerned with identifying the psychological principles that govern human interaction with environments, systems, and products and applying these principles to issues of engineering and design. Engineering psychologists may consult with architects and designers of various industrial and consumer products (e.g., airplanes, automobiles, home appliances, electronics and software applications) while specializing in such areas as ergonomics, human–computer interaction, or usability engineering. Engineering psychology is often used synonymously with human factors engineering. See also equipment design; human engineering; tool design; workspace design.
a phenomenon in which a subset of people with schizophrenia have particular difficulty visually integrating the parts of an object and seeing them as an ensemble. For example, if looking at a watch, they will perceive the hands, the dial, and the numbers as separate forms but will have difficulty processing the watch face as a whole. [coined by U.S. psychologist Steven M. Silverstein (1962– )]