Files
Abstract
Design Neurocognition is an amalgamation of two distinctly different yet interdisciplinary fields, driven by the purpose of comprehending and predicting brain behavior during design activities. These domains include, but are not limited to, problem-solving, concept generation, process design, redesign, problem formulation, and problem preference. Identifying and defining the problem statements is the first step in the design process, which can influence downstream activities. Problem statements serve as stimuli to a designer, determining the designer’s neurocognitive behavior, as an engineer can experience an immediate emotional reaction to a problem statement rooted in experience and interest. Word choice, stated goals, and relevant design information can impact an engineer’s understanding of the problem statement. The structure and variation in problem statements may have different emotional and neurocognitive influences on a designer’s behavior.This research presents a novel approach to studying designer preference through the neurocognitive lens, to support understanding the source of preference. The author's prior research identifies two design dimensions that have been found to have an impact on engineering students' preference toward a problem statement: constraint and social value. Constraint here defines how open ended the problem is – allowing students the freedom to explore a wide solution space. Social value defines the social impact a problem has on society. To investigate the neural and cognitive underpinnings that shape these preferences, a multimodal neurocognitive study is performed, encompassing three distinct studies. The problem formulation study examines students' generated problem statements by identifying patterns, themes, and novelty. The problem evaluation study involves design experts rating the problem statements to identify the constraint and social value problems. The problem preference study involves presenting problem statements to students as stimuli, with neural responses recorded for each event.
This research has a far-reaching impact on numerous domains, as it informs educators, the industry, and the research community about the sources of design preference. It can be utilized to enhance student retention in engineering, the selection of engineering majors, success in engineering, and the development of industrial engineering programs.