Affordance


 * The Concept of Affordance:**

Affordance refers to properties that are perceivable, allowing a user to perform a task. In the case of ecological psychology, Gibson (1977) characterizes affordance as “a combination of physical properties” that are “uniquely suited to a given animal” (p.79). Properties alone, however, do not guarantee an affordance is sensed by a usable body. A human (or animal’s) ability to sense the presence of the affordance in an environment also factors into the usability of that affordance. Keith S. Jones (2003) credits Gibson with connecting the concept of "perception" to affordance in his history of the concept as it evolved in Gibson's work. Objects and events gain meaning in the "person-environment system" rather than being "internally constructed and stored" (108). If a person doesn’t perceive an affordance, doesn’t mean that affordance isn’t present but that we do not perceive those qualities yet. Although Gibson (1977) refers in large part to object-oriented affordances, theories also afford users an opportunity to conceptualize or enable a perspective from which work can be conceived (and with other affordances executed) (Phelps).


 * Differing Uses of //Affordance//:**

Some critical theorists seem to use the term affordance in a Marxist sense, in terms of the distribution/availability of resources. The term has absorbed connotations of social injustice, as critical theorists argue how some populations are not afforded opportunities or resources based on socioeconomic status or race. Affordance itself is understood in some sense by what is not afforded, or denied.

In Actor Network Theory, the concept of prescription is "what a device allows or forbids from the actors--humans and nonhumans--that it anticipates" (Bloomfield, Latham, and Vurdubakis, 2010). Device prescription is for some scholars fixed in its design and usability, however, Bloomfield, Latham, and Vurdubakis (2010) argue that such behaviors are socialized between "the sociohistorically contingent folding(s) of the body and the artefactual world into one another" (p.417).

Although some theorists have separated affordance and perception (McGrenere and Ho, 2000; Torenvliet, 2003), activity theory is consistent with ecological psychology especially in new media studies with an attention to operational affordances of tools in interface design. Kaptelinin and Nardi (2006) reference the transition from entering commands into a dos terminal to "WIMP (windows, icons, menus, and pointing)" represented a paradigm shift where users benefited from their perception of how to interact with objects in the physical world as they were represented metaphorically (and operationally) in the computer world.


 * Related Concepts:**

The concept of //perception// was critical to Gibson's evolved use of affordance. His early research began conceptualizing about visual perception, optic flow, and spatial meanings as he examined how individuals understood the objects and environments in which they moved. These concepts later evolved into perception, shifting from a focus on individuals creating meaning for an object to an understanding that objects have inherent meanings that are perceived. Gibson postulated that we //perceive// affordances by "apprehending...uses and dangers, [objects] satisfying or annoying possibilities, and the consequences of actions centering on them" (qtd in Jones, 2003, p.110).


 * References**

Bloomfield, B., Lathan, Y., and Vurdubakis, T. (2010) "Bodies, technologies, and action possibilities: When is an affordance?" //Sociolog//y//.// 44, pp. 415-433.

Gibson, J. J. (1977) "The theory of affordances." In Shaw, R. and Bransford, J. (Eds.) Perceiving, acting, and knowing: Toward an ecological psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Jones, K. (2003) What is an Affordance? Ecological Psychology. 15(2), pp. 107-114.

Kaptelinin, V. and Nardi, B. (2006) //Acting with technology: Activity theory and interaction design.// Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McGrenere, J. and Ho, W. (2000) Affordances: Clarifying and evolving a concept. In //Proceedings of Graphic Interface 2000,// pp. 179-186.

Perkins, D., Jay, E. and Tishman, S. (1993) Beyond abilities: A dispositional theory of thinking. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. p1-21

Phelps, L. "Practical Observations about How to Theorize: Functions and Strategies of Conceptual Inquiry" (Complete Citation)

Torenvliet, G. (2003) We can't afford it! The devaluation of a usability term. //interactions.// 10, pp. 12-17.