Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
110 results found in Human-Computer Interaction.
- Multimodal Natural Language Generation (Multimodal NLG)
- Natural language generation systems that produce output coordinated across more than one modality — typically combinations of text or speech with graphics, maps, animation, gesture, or tactile output.…
- Networked Minds Social Presence Inventory (Networked Minds Measure of Social Presence, NMSPI)
- The Networked Minds Social Presence Inventory is a self-report questionnaire developed by Biocca, Harms and colleagues to measure social presence - the sense of 'being together' with another person - …
- Non-Speech Input (Non-Speech Acoustic Input, Non-Verbal Voice Input)
- A method of controlling computers or devices using sounds produced by the human vocal tract that are not recognised words — such as humming, whistling, hissing, clicking, or varying pitch and volume. …
- On-Body Interaction (Body-centric interaction, Skin input, On-body input)
- An interaction paradigm that uses the surface of the user's own body as an input medium, typically through gestures like taps, swipes, or touches on the skin. On-body interaction leverages tactile and…
- Peak Velocity
- The maximum speed reached by a cursor or limb during a directed movement toward a target. In human-computer interaction research, peak velocity is a key metric for understanding pointing performance, …
- Pen-based Interface (Stylus Interface, Pen Computing, Digital Pen Interface)
- A computer interaction method that uses a stylus or digital pen as the primary input device, typically in combination with a graphics tablet or touchscreen. Pen-based interfaces can support handwritin…
- Perceptual Cycle (Perceptual Response Time, Perceptual Processing)
- In the Model Human Processor framework, the perceptual cycle is the time required for a person to perceive and register a stimulus from their environment, such as seeing a visual change on screen. The…
- Perceptual Gap
- A design failure identified by Choudhury (2026) in which an AI system's explanation is delivered through exactly the sensory channel that its user cannot access. For example, a Grad-CAM heat map overl…
- Persuasive Technology (Captology, Behavior Change Technology)
- Interactive computing systems designed to change users' attitudes or behaviors through persuasion rather than coercion. Common persuasive techniques include goal-setting, self-monitoring, rewards, rem…
- Physical Control (Direct Control, Direct Manipulation)
- An interaction paradigm where the user directly manipulates on-screen objects or controls by pointing to them and acting on them, as with a mouse click or touch screen tap. In physical control, the fo…
- Pitch Detection (Pitch Tracking, Fundamental Frequency Detection)
- The computational process of determining the fundamental frequency (pitch) of an audio signal in real time. In accessibility, pitch detection is used in non-speech voice interfaces where changes in hu…
- Point-and-Click (Point and Click, Click Target)
- A fundamental interaction paradigm in graphical user interfaces where the user moves a cursor to a target on screen and activates it by pressing a button on a pointing device such as a mouse or trackp…
- Pointing (Pointing Performance, Mouse Pointing, Cursor Pointing)
- The act of moving a cursor or pointer to indicate a specific location on screen, typically to select, activate, or interact with an interface element. Pointing is a fundamental computer interaction th…
- Programming by Example (PBE, Programming by Demonstration)
- A technique in end-user programming where a system infers a generalizable program from concrete examples provided by the user, rather than requiring the user to write code directly. In accessibility c…
- Proteus Effect
- The Proteus Effect is a phenomenon, first described by Yee and Bailenson (2007), in which the appearance of a person's avatar influences how they think, behave and interact in virtual or augmented env…
- RESOLV Icons (Representational Enumerated Semi-transparent Overlaid Labels for Voice)
- A visual disambiguation technique for voice interfaces where semi-transparent numbered labels are overlaid on screen elements that match an ambiguous voice command. When a user speaks a command that c…
- Relaxed Scoping (Flexible Scoping)
- A voice navigation strategy that allows users to name any target on the screen directly without first navigating through a hierarchy. Relaxed scoping prioritizes efficiency by enabling single-command …
- Reverse Privacy Paradox
- The reverse privacy paradox is a pattern, described by Zhang and colleagues in research on LLM-based conversational agents, in which users appear to disregard privacy concerns in the moment of use whi…
- Rigid Scoping
- A voice navigation strategy that requires users to explicitly navigate through a hierarchical structure before issuing commands to specific targets. In rigid scoping, the user must first select a cont…
- Robotic Social Attributes Scale (RoSAS, RoSAS-SF, Robotic Social Attributes Scale Short Form)
- A validated psychometric instrument developed by Carpinella et al. (2017) that measures how people perceive the social attributes of a robot along three subscales: Warmth (how likable, friendly, and c…