affordance
psychological theory
Quick Summary
Affordance is a term introduced by psychologist James J. Gibson to describe the quality or property of an object that defines its possible uses or makes clear how it should be used. For example, the obvious affordance of a chair is that one can sit on it.1
In human-computer interaction (HCI), affordance relates to how the design of an interface suggests its functionality to the user. This field draws on psychology and other disciplines to create effective interactions between users and computers.2
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