A Rich Landscape of Affordances

TLDR

Affordances are possibilities for action provided by the environment, traditionally thought to relate mainly to motor actions such as locomotion and grasping. The authors propose that affordances have a broader application than previously assumed. They argue that the affordances available to an animal depend on the animal's skills. Because humans possess many abilities, the landscape of affordances we inhabit is very rich and resourceful.

Abstract

How broad is the class of affordances we can perceive? Affordances (CitationGibson, 1979/1986) are possibilities for action provided to an animal by the environment—by the substances, surfaces, objects, and other living creatures that surround it. A widespread assumption has been that affordances primarily relate to motor action—to locomotion and manual behaviors such as reaching and grasping. We propose an account of affordances according to which the concept of affordances has a much broader application than has hitherto been supposed. We argue that the affordances an environment offers to an animal are dependent on the skills the animal possesses. By virtue of our many abilities, the landscape of affordances we inhabit as humans is very rich and resourceful.