Affordance

Affordances (also prompt character or affordances of the English: affordance ) is that of an object - obviously existing or actually given - use property offered for subjects (human or animal). A chair has to be suitable for people of the affordances for sitting or ascent (not for an elephant ). A switch has to offer character that it can be folded into the other position - to be petted, however, is not one of his tender character.

For the affordances of the objects, there are limitations that result from physical, physical, logical, or cultural reasons. Examples:

  • A three -ton hammer could not be used by a person to drive nails ( physically ).
  • A cursor can not be moved over the side of the screen (physically).
  • With a switch bar with a left and a right switch for control of two adjacent units of the left switch should the left- and the right switch, the right-wing machine use ( logical).
  • A red light means " stop! " ( Cultural).

The English term usability affordance, which was created by Donald Norman as a transfer of an ecological approach to the perception of James J. Gibson (1904-1979) on designed artifacts can not be easily transferred into German. The eingedeutschte term " affordance " is often not understood. It is therefore recommended in most cases, to use the terms " prompt character " or more accurately " affordances ".

Criticism

Especially for the latter is recently an attempt to observe the Affordanzkonzept for the interpretation of media use, such as in media sociology, to make it fruitful ( cf. Zillien 2009). However, just in terms of digital media that communicate via digital artifacts to determine that these often have no clear prompt character. While it is about almost impossible to eat with a shovel, a computer is a non-specific machine that can be used for example both for accounting, as well as for games, the creation of knowledge, the pursuit of private obsessions as for collaborative projects. The Affordanzcharakter here is at best a contingent encouragement to (different, varying ) use.

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