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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible pp 1–8Cite as

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Affordance

Abstract

Affordances have been conceptualized by J. J. Gibson as what the environment offers, provides or furnishes the organism, in other words, as possibilities for action. However, this notion is not without controversy, in particular surrounding its nature and properties. This entry will consider the ways in which the concept of affordance can help us build a material theory of the possible, one that is intimately related to both subjective experience and to culture. The entry discusses different definitions of affordance, its types and characteristics, before outlining a model of the possible based on the interplay between materiality, intentionality, and normativity. The implications of this model for our understanding of agency and possibility are discussed in the end.

Keywords

  • Affordance
  • Materiality
  • Intentionality
  • Culture
  • Objects
  • Agency

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Counseling, Webster University Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Vlad P. Glăveanu

  2. Center for the Science of Learning and Technology (SLATE), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Vlad P. Glăveanu

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  1. Vlad P. Glăveanu
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Correspondence to Vlad P. Glăveanu .

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    Samira Bourgeois-Bougrine

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Glăveanu, V.P. (2020). Affordance. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_10-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_10-2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-98390-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-98390-5

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Chapter History

  1. Latest

    Affordance
    Published:
    13 September 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_10-3

  2. Affordance
    Published:
    28 May 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_10-2

  3. Original

    Affordance
    Published:
    01 March 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_10-1