Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M11304

Affordance

Affordance
BehaviorHigh supportPsychology
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28

CORE DEFINITION

In psychology, affordance is what the environment offers the individual. In design, affordance has a narrower meaning; it refers to possible actions that an actor can readily perceive.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

In psychology, affordance is what the environment offers the individual. In design, affordance has a narrower meaning; it refers to possible actions that an actor can readily perceive.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Gibson proposed that the environment or objects 'afford' possible uses in their properties; it is a relational attribute between the object and the actor, neither purely objective nor purely subjective. Good design makes affordances self-explanatory; poor design requires additional labels.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AffordanceZH · Explicit
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