Three levels of perceiving affordance: possibility, specificity, and signification levels

Abstract

In this paper, a new framework of perceiving affordance, based on the ecological approach and neuroscientific findings, is proposed. Although affordance has been one of the most famous concepts in the human-computer interaction (HCI) field, it has been somewhat inconsistent. In addition, the perceiving process of affordance has not been fully explained, while affordance itself has often been studied. Therefore, first, we review the original concept of affordance in the ecological approach. Second, neuroscientific findings on affordance are reviewed and associated with ecological psychology. As a result, affordance is related to three visual systems in the brain: dorso-dorsal, ventro-dorsal, and ventral systems. Based on the results, we propose three levels of perceiving affordance: possibility, specificity, and signification levels. We expect that the explanatory framework, called 'three levels of perceiving affordance,' contributes to clarifying both affordance and perceiving process. Additionally, it offers possibilities to be applied in the analysis and design of technologies in the context of HCI.