托福口语 Task 3

In psychology, the concept of 'functional fixedness' refers to a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in its traditional manner. When faced with a problem, individuals often fail to see alternative uses for familiar items because their minds are fixed on the object's typical function. This rigidity can hinder creative problem-solving. Overcoming functional fixedness requires a mental shift to perceive objects beyond their conventional roles, enabling novel solutions to emerge.

Professor: Let me illustrate this with a classic experiment. Participants were given a box of thumbtacks, a candle, and a book of matches, and asked to attach the candle to the wall so it could burn without dripping wax on the floor. Many struggled because they saw the box only as a container for tacks. The solution was to empty the box, tack it to the wall, and place the candle inside. In a second group, the tacks were presented outside the box, empty. Almost everyone solved it quickly because they could see the box as a potential shelf. The first group suffered from functional fixedness—they couldn't see the box as anything but a holder for tacks. Once they broke that mental set, the solution became obvious.