Explicating Affordances: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Affordances in Communication Research

TLDR

The study aims to resolve inconsistencies in the use of the term “affordances” by examining its application in empirical communication and technology research. It analyzes 82 communication‑oriented scholarly works and identifies three recurring inconsistencies in how affordances are described. The findings reveal that researchers often describe a particular affordance without engaging related scholarship, list affordances without conceptually developing them, and invoke the affordances perspective when the concept does not meet accepted definitions, and the authors propose criteria to help scholars evaluate and consistently apply affordances.

Abstract

This study aims to clarify inconsistencies regarding the term affordances by examining how affordances terminology is used in empirical research on communication and technology. Through an analysis of 82 communication-oriented scholarly works on affordances, we identify 3 inconsistencies regarding the use of this term. First, much research describes a particular affordance without engaging other scholarship addressing that affordance. Second, several studies identify "lists" of affordances without conceptually developing individual affordances within those lists. Third, the affordances perspective is evoked in situations where the purported affordance does not meet commonly accepted definitions. We conclude with a set of criteria to aid scholars in evaluating their assumptions about affordances and to facilitate a more consistent approach to its conceptualization and application.