Affordances and Prospective Control: An Outline of the Ontology
Abstract
Actions must be controlled prospectively. This requires that the behavioral possibilities of surface layouts and events be perceived. In this article, the ontolog- ical basis for an understanding of prospective control in realist terms is outlined. The foundational idea is that of affordances and the promoted ontology is materialist and dynamicist. It is argued that research in the ecological approach to prospective control is ultimately the search for objective laws. Because lawfulness is equated with real possibility, this amounts to the study of the affordances (the real possibilities) underlying prospective control and the circumstances that actualize them. The ontological assumptions and hypotheses bearing on this latter proposal are articulated. It is suggested that critical evaluation of the identified ontological themes may benefit the experimental and theoretical study of perception in the service of activity.
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Affordances exist as dispositions in the environment that are complemented by dispositions of the animal.
“Indeed, affordances exist as dispositions in the environment that are complemented with dispositions of the animal.”
From Productive pluralism: The coming of age of ecological psychology. (2024) · cites this paper as Turvey, 1992
Turvey equated affordances with lawfulness, holding that real possibility is identical to lawfulness.
“Real possibility is identical to lawfulness (Turvey, 1992, p. 177)”
From Productive pluralism: The coming of age of ecological psychology. (2024) · cites this paper as Turvey, 1992
On the physical approach, ambient structure (a medium) is required to bring affordance and effectivity into informational contact and to actualize them.
“Instead, on the physical approach, there needs to be ambient structure (i.e. a medium) available that brings affordance and effectivity in informational contact and to bring them to actualization.”
From Productive pluralism: The coming of age of ecological psychology. (2024) · cites this paper as Turvey, 1992
On more ambitious physical proposals, the availability of specific affordances depends on circumstances, while their bare possibility is given with the laws of nature.
“On more ambitious proposals, the availability of specific affordances depends on specific circumstances (i.e. initial conditions etc.), but their "bare possibility" is given with the laws of nature (Shaw, 2001;Turvey, 1992, see also Shaw et al., 2019).”
From Productive pluralism: The coming of age of ecological psychology. (2024) · cites this paper as Turvey, 1992
Affordances and effectivities are duals that imply each other.
“Importantly, affordances and effectivities are duals, they imply each other.”
From Productive pluralism: The coming of age of ecological psychology. (2024) · cites this paper as Turvey, 1992
Organisms directly perceive affordances by detecting invariant structures in ambient sensory arrays.
“Instead, it proposes that organisms directly perceive affordances—possibilities for action—by detecting invariant structures in ambient sensory arrays (Chemero 2009; Turvey 1992).”
From The myth of the Bayesian brain (2025) · cites this paper as Turvey 1992
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- Authors
- Turvey, M. T.
- Corresponding author
- Turvey, M.T.
- ORCID
- Turvey, M.T.
- Venue
- Ecological Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1992-09
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 173-187
- ISSN
- 1040-7413 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-6969
- OpenAlex
- W2153296338
- Cited by
- 933
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 58 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 54 · 2019: 55 · 2018: 54 · 2017: 42 · 2016: 52 · 2015: 41 · 2014: 43 · 2013: 44 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 10.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Ecological Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy and History of Science
- Keywords
- affordances, prospective control, ontology, materialism, legality, real possibility, events
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