Affordance

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Definition

The term affordance was used by perceptual psychologist J. Gibson to describe the properties of the environment upon which one can act. They are action possibilities within an environmnent or the ways in which the environment allows one to interact with it.

Derived from Gibson's definition, affordance for Norman (1999) refers to the possibilities of action communicated by the environment and perceived by the actor.

Gaver (1991) like Gibson sees affordances as possible actions afforded by an object or environment as existing regardless of whether or not they are perceived but by separating affordances from their perception, elaborates on the interaction between them necessary for an action system. (Gaver, 1991, p. 80)

  • Perceptible affordances exist where information on the actions that are afforded are perceptible to the user. These are very dependent on language, culture, context, experience, etc. and vary for different users.
  • Hidden affordances are actions that are possible but may not be visible but may be inferred
  • False affordances are present if users perceive an environment affords actions that are not possible
  • Correct rejection occurrs when there is neither the affordance nor the misperception of its existence.

Gaver's affordance distinctions

Gaver also breaks down perceptible affordances into

  • Sequential affordances - affordances revealed over time as one action reveals the possible actions that may follow
  • 'Nested affordances - affordances that combined reveal a specific associated action


Affordance in user-centered design

In his book The Pshychology of Everyday Things Norman applies the term affordance to design of physical and virtual products and environments. He later makes the distinction between real and perceived affordances' inherent in objects and environments, with perceived affordances being the actions users perceive are possible (or not possible in the case of non-affordances) Where physical objects contain both real and perceived affordances (e.g. a cylinder affords rolling), graphic and interface design of computer-based environments is concerned with what a user perceives to be possible or not and what actions the user infers to be potentially useful (e.g. clicking on an icon will have an effect on the system, whereas touching the screen will not, though both actions are afforded by a personal computer) (Norman, 1999)

Using Gaver's distinctions, design would be concerned with the influence it can have on both false and perceptible affordance and in many instances in instructional design or gaming design with hidden affordances that must be discovered through the former two.

Constraints

  • Logical constraints - reasoning to find possibilities
  • Cultural constraints - learned conventions and analogies (click on a link, drag a scroll bar)

Affordance design principles

Norman (1999) suggests four basic principles to increase the perception of the affordances of screen-based environments.

  1. Follow major conventions already established for images and actions.
  2. Wherever possible, use words in addition to icons and graphics
  3. Use recognizable metaphors (e.g. the screen as a desktop)
  4. Be consistent and coherent in the use of the conceptual model behind the design (i.e. the three first principles)

However in using affordances as frameworks for designing interactions and interfaces issues related to Cognitive load theory and the differences between novice and expert users (Expertise reversal effect) must be considered. One possible approach is to allow users to customize their environments as their expertise increases.

Related articles

Human-computer interaction, User-centered design, Intelligent learning environment, Open-learner model

Related links

  • Affordance-based Design of Physical Interfaces for Ubiquitous Computing Environments[1]

References

  • Gaver, William W. (1991): Technology Affordances. In: Robertson, Scott P., Olson, Gary M., Olson, Judith S. (ed.): Proceedings of the ACM CHI 91 Human Factors in Computing Systems Conference. April 28 - June 5, 1991 pdf,
  • McGrenere, J., Ho, W. (2000). Affordances: Clarifying and Evolving a Concept. Paper accepted for publication in the Proceedings of Graphics Interface 2000, Montreal, May 2000. pdf
  • Norman, D. (1999) Affordance and Design [[2]]