2014/10/02 by Erik Rietveld, Julian Kiverstein · 1 voice · 8 citations
Arts and Humanities · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Action Observation and Synchronization #Embodied and Extended Cognition #Philosophy and History of Science
paper · doi:10.1080/10407413.2014.958035
openalex publication_date 2014/10/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
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.