ANNIE KLOPP | Affordances Activity

"an action possibility available in the environment to an individual, independent of the individual's ability to perceive this possibility" 

How do  you understand this definition/description of affordance? Please put into your own words. What if anything may or may not be problematic about this interpretation of the notion of affordances?

Affordance, according to this definition is something that depends on the environment it is within, rather than what the people may seem to think about it.

What may be problematic about this definition is that it does not account for (note:  “independent of the individual’s ability to perceive”) the human aspect of interpretation.  Nearly everything in this world is defined as we interpret it.  It may be problematic to exclude affordance from this general rule, as we tend to understand things based on interpretation and perception in general.

What might be the connection between affordance and evolution?

Affordance, being something that accounts for the environment it is surrounded by, adapts.  Evolution is the long-term result of mini-adaptations. Things change over time (evolve) based on small possible changes, affordances. 

What is the difference between a niche and a habitat? Explain in your own words and give an example of each. What is your niche?

According to yourarticlelibrary.com, an environment is “everything around where something lives or grows… the air, pants, earth, water—everything” whereas, a habitat is “an area in the environment where a living thing can grow and survive… forests, oceans, deserts, artic are all examples of habitat.” Finally, a niche is “a part of a habitat where a living thing makes its home” (yourarticlelibrary.com). 

In my own words:  One metaphor for a habitat in relation to a niche would be:  my house that I live in is a habitat for me; my bedroom is my niche.  While I may live in all parts of my house (habitat) at times, I spend most of my time in my bedroom (niche), which is customary to me and where I am most comfortable.   If my dog were living in the streets of Gainesville, the area behind sorority row would be her habitat, perhaps, even just generally shaded places where people dispose of food and water type items regularly.  Her niche would probably be a certain area where she makes her “den.” Wild dogs are known to make dens, places where they cannot and do not urinate as not to harm their den.  Her den might be under the dumpster or behind a shady bushy area. 

An affordance cuts the dichotomy of subjective and objective and helps us to understand its inadequacy. The affordances of the environment are facts of the environment, not appearances. But they are not on the other hand, facts at the level of physics concerned with matter and energy and animals left out.



Get into your groups and answer the following questions
.  Pick three aspects/environmental conditions of this room or the third floor of FAC. Describe each of these aspects as an affordance.

Aspect of FAC306 number 1:  lots of computers

What activity is implied by the material?

This must be a room where people use a lot of computers. There is hardly anything else in this room, and there is one central computer, almost like a master computer.  Does the central computer tell the other computers what to do?  Why are all the other computers the same?  They must serve the same function.

What sorts of sensory input does this condition/object offer the user?

These computers each have a large screen, the same mice, and keyboards.  There must be something useful about this trilogy for the interaction between the user and the computer.  These must be critical to the use of the computers, otherwise, not every computer would have them.  All of the computers are clean and modern looking, this must be new and precious technology, expensive.

What about the object or condition compels you to act upon it in a particular way?



The tiny little buttons on the keyboard inspire touch, they click really readily and inspire a person to want to touch them and hear the noises they make when they click.  The sizes of the screens are inviting.  The crispness and clarity of the computers invite use and interaction.  The chairs at every computer welcome a person to have a seat for a long while.

Aspect of FAC306 number 1:  windows only on one side

What activity is implied by the material?

The windows are large and tall.  The material is large and heavy duty, as well as mostly out of reach.  This implies grandiosity to the windows, suggesting they are there for a reason but must not be touched.  Or it implies that the windows are an industrial material for serving an architectural purpose.

What sorts of sensory input does this condition/object offer the user?

Since most of the computers are facing so that a person can see the windows, maybe the windows have a special function in relation to the computers.  The windows let in light, suggesting that brightness is an important part of the windows.  Being tall and large may be another important part of the windows.  They are also oriented in series, so maybe there is a reason that there are lots of large windows rather than one large window.  There are operational controls on the windows, suggesting each window functions individually.

What about the object or condition compels you to act upon it in a particular way?



The windows are positioned up and above most of the room.  This implies they are something to gaze out of or look directly at.  They are too large to be looked at as a complete unit unless standing far away.  To grasp the full concept of the windows, you should stand back.

Aspect of FAC306 number 1:  carpet on floor (and chairs)

What activity is implied by the material?

The carpet is cushiony and soft to the touch, relative to the other materials in the room.  Maybe this is where people sleep.  Maybe people drop things on the ground, and since the carpet is soft, these things do not break; it provides a preventative buffer against harming delicate materials.  There is also “carpet” on the chairs.  This means that the floor carpet and the chair carpet provide a similar if not, singular, purpose.  They are soft and imply direct contact with the human body for this reason.

What sorts of sensory input does this condition/object offer the user?

The carpets are intricate and dark.  They are a cluster of very tiny threads. The unit of the threads together creates an intricate object. There is lots of texture to the carpet and chairs alike.  There must be a reason for this similarity in texture throughout.  A complex fabric of carpet must require woven texture in order to satisfy the user for its purpose, suggesting the purpose to be human contact and comfort.

What about the object or condition compels you to act upon it in a particular way?



The activity in the softness of the intricately woven carpet and chair carpet material inspires touch.  When you touch it, you are less bored than you are when you touch the wall.  The carpet is not necessarily smooth—it changes in its subtle ridges along its patterns, awakening touch and activating the senses.

What do you think is the difference between usefulness and utility with respect to affordances?



Usefulness is more of a commodity compared to utility with respect to affordances. Usefulness of a chair could include a softer cushion, as my butt hurts if I sit in the same way for too long.  It is useful to have the handle that helps elevate or lower the chair.  But the utility of the chair is to be sat in, factory-friendly, reproducible, and basic, in a sense.

Utility requires a system; a system that can be repeated and qualifies in serving a purpose. 

Usefulness is an adjective to describe helpful features of something that go beyond utility.  There is a useful feature in having new mice in FAC306 in that the Animation students need a center mouse control button.  This new mouse is so useful, it could set a new standard for utility.

What might be a false affordance?

A false accordance may be that wires are necessary for connectivity.  In the wireless age, we do not always need the literal and physical connection of wires to connect a mouse to a computer, etc.  Bluetooth can serve this purpose invisibly.  Wires are a false affordance in the sense that the absence of them implies a false affordance.

The handle on a pushpin is a false affordance.  You do not need it (utility does not require it) but having a handle to pull it out in the instance of pinning something by mistake, gives the handle usefulness.  It does not need a handle to serve its purpose, despite an assumption:  false affordance. 

What do you think is the difference between usefulness and utility with respect to affordances?



As mentioned in the last question, the utility of the pushpin is that it pin something to the wall.  The handle does not contribute to this utility, therefore it may be a false affordance.

Are we aware of all of the affordances of an object or a condition? 

Sometimes more than others we are aware of the affordances of an object or condition.  I am much more aware of the condition of my car than I am the sidewalk.  These two objects serve a similar function:  transportation.  However, the difference is that I am more attuned to the car that I am paying for than I am the sidewalk I am not paying for.  I would be much more inclined to notice a scratch on my car than a crack in the sidewalk. This being said, I would be unlikely to notice an un-useful button on the console of my car. 

Do you think affordances are cultural?

Affordances transcend culture most of the time.  An illiterate child from Nicaragua would be likely to recognize a computer as a machine that completes a task, or that the keyboard connects to the computer, as these things are positioned together and operate together.

The exception to this rule may be things like preferences that infiltrate common objects or conditions.  For example, bars and nightclubs in Europe are bright, leaving the lights on in full blast.  In America our bars are dim and dark.  This affordance contributes to the night club scene in America, but Europe seems to not see this to be a particularly useful affordance, I suppose.

Are they different for people with disabilities?

Much like the un-useful button on my car console, I could easily overlook things like stairs or things that may come in the way of an individual with a disability. 

Many things people take for granted status quo with the world are things that people with disabilities find a challenge. For example, I struggle greatly with bipolar, where I feel chronically tired about 80% of the year and sleeplessly energetic about 20% of the year.  This is problematic for me in my sleep cycle, creating drastic ebbs and flows in my productivity and schoolwork. I will get a full 10 hours of sleep and still feel like I only got 1 hour of sleep.  Hypomania causes me to worry more than the average person often to the point of paranoia. 

People without mental health problems probably take sleep and regular amounts of energy for granted in a way that I would find them especially useful, and struggle to create for myself despite years of instilling different methods.



Draw parallels between the idea of affordances and intentionality and art. What is the relationship between metaphor and affordances?

Affordances are purposeful in the way that intentionality is purposeful. Art is purposeful in that it serves a particular purpose as envisioned by the artist.  In this sense, art is based on certain affordances.

Metaphor is a way to explain a relationship between one object to another by referencing a similar relationship that is more commonly understood. 

Example A:  putting a talking device on a dog = a person controlling and manipulating a puppet.  Therefore, making a dog talk with electronics implies a certain parasitic (too strong a word?) satisfaction or entertainment value that humans derive from dogs.  Or, humans personify there dogs to add value and purpose to their dogs. 

Example B:  The aforementioned, habitat is to niche as is my house is to my bedroom.  Habitat = house.  Niche = bedroom.

Affordances describe a relationship and provide a platform for metaphor.