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ergonomic traps

components of a design that contribute to the probability of accidents and human error. Designs that are not intuitive or that violate normal human tendencies in terms of behavior and mental processing contain ergonomic traps. For example, clothes irons with the power cable on the right side present an ergonomic trap to someone who is left-handed. See behavior-based safety.

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Psychology term of the day

July 27th 2024

script

script

n.

1. a cognitive schematic structure—a mental road map—containing the basic actions (and their temporal and causal relations) that comprise a complex action. Also called script schema.

2. a structured representation consisting of a sequence of conceptual dependencies grouped together to capture the semantic relationships implicit in everyday human situations. It was designed for the purpose of computer-based story understanding. [created in 1966 by U.S. cognitive and computer scientist Roger C. Schank (1946–  ) and U.S. psychologist Robert P. Abelson (1928–2005)]

3. see prescription drug.

4. see script analysis.