Aistintamenehditelmiä

Aistintamenehditelmiä, a Finnish term that can be translated as "perceptual affordances" or "sensory affordances," refers to the possibilities for action that an environment offers to an organism, as perceived by that organism. This concept originates from ecological psychology, particularly the work of James J. Gibson. It emphasizes that affordances are not inherent properties of an object or environment alone, nor are they purely subjective mental constructs. Instead, they are relational properties that exist at the interface between the organism's capabilities and the environment's characteristics.

For example, a flat, horizontal surface of sufficient size affords "sitting" for a human but not for a fish. The same surface might afford "walking" for a human but not for a bird in flight. The perception of these affordances is direct and does not necessarily require complex cognitive processing or interpretation. Organisms are seen as directly perceiving the actionable possibilities in their surroundings. This perspective shifts the focus from internal representations of the world to the dynamic interaction between the perceiver and the perceived environment. The term highlights the active role of the organism in exploring and utilizing the opportunities presented by its surroundings for survival and interaction.