Design agency
Karen Wells
June 3, 2026 DOI: 10.4324/9781003489610-5 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Agency philosophy Relation database Cognition Disposition Action physics Musical Public relations Engineering ethics Cognitive science Component thermodynamics Knowledge management Epistemology Human–computer interaction Structure and agency Innovative human-technology interaction |
| Key points | Argues that children's informal toy-making with repurposed materials exemplifies 4E cognition and 4A agency, and that these actions foster agential capacity and a problem-solving disposition in design-and-build. |
Abstract
This chapter explores how 4E cognition and 4A agency play out in the processes of informal design-and-build strategies used by children as they make toys and musical instruments. The materials used for making toys are anything that is ubiquitous in the local environment and of low value. Many kinds of discarded materials are repurposed for toy-making. The chapter describes in detail several kinds of making, including cars and boats, and shows how these demonstrate that cognition is embedded, embodied, enacted and extended, and how these actions generate a sense of agential capacity and a problem-solving disposition in relation to design-and-build.