MAKING SENSE OF THE AFFORDANCE CONCEPT IN THE 3RD HCI PARADIGM.

Since Norman's appropriation of Gibson's conception of affordance to explain the design of products and technologies, this mainstream HCI concept has changed to reflect the evolution in the artifacts we interact with. This paper sheds light on how the concept of affordance has been transformed in keeping with the changes in the HCI field. An observational study was conducted aiming at identifying physical, perceived, social, and motivational affordances of the iPad® and of a Tablet-PC. The study clarified how the different types of affordances can explain the relation between human and technology in this new technical and social scenario named 3^rd HCI paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]