Blog 4 Affordances

Blog 4: Affordances:

“Affordances are an examination of the actual potentialities within the activity for expressing beauty” (Butler, 2011). Communications, connections, ethics, aesthetics, spirituality, linking with history and physical are seven sub headings that fall under affordances which is what I learnt this week.

My understanding of affordances is looking at the attractive elements of an activity.

“It is through our activities that we are connected with life and with other human beings. Through the activities in which we engage, we learn about the world, test our knowledge, practice skills, express our feelings, experience pleasure, take care of our needs for survival, develop competence, and achieve mastery over our destinies” (Hopkins & Smith, 1983, p. 296).

The activity of baking enabled my mother, sister and I to share a mother, daughter and sibling relationship. My mother was able to practice her skills of teaching while her daughter’s knowledge skills were tested through learning. This exchange of demonstrating and learning to bake was not seen as a burden but as a shared moment of memory that is to be cherished forever. 

In this blog I will look at how affordance is relevant to baking.

Baking an activity that brings personal satisfaction and I am able to express this by being creative with the size, shape and the icing decorations (communication). This activity has a connection to my mother, who taught me how to bake, and decorate cakes with icing sugar which makes the cake more appealing (aesthetics). I generally like to bake on a sunny day which makes me cheery hence perfect mood to bake. In my culture cooking is an activity performed by women (spirituality) hence the reason why baking creates a link to my mum and sister in the past (linking with history). Even though I enjoy baking one thing I don’t look forward to is the washing up of dishes (ethics). I need a clean kitchen to bake and I have a habit of leaving the kitchen tidy because I flat with other people. 

References:

Butler, M. (2011). Participation in Occupation 2: BT238001 [Lecture Notes]. Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago Polytechnic, School of Occupational Therapy. 

Hopkins, H. L., & Smith, H. D. (1983). Willard and Spackman’s occupational therapy. Philadelphia: Lippincott.