Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M11727

Affordance

Affordance
Learn & MetacognitionHigh supportCognitive Psychology
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

Affordance refers to the feasible actions that the environment/object 'offers' to a specific actor (e.g., a door handle affords 'pulling'). It exists in the relationship between the object and the actor, depending both on the properties of the object and the capabilities of the perceiver; good design makes the correct usage 'visible'.

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Source support: Explicit

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