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 the way it is traditionally used. This mental block prevents individuals from seeing alternative uses for familiar objects, thereby hindering creative problem-solving. When faced with a novel challenge, people often fail to think beyond an object's standard function, even when that object could easily be repurposed to solve the problem at hand. Overcoming functional fixedness requires a conscious effort to think abstractly about the properties of objects, not just their intended uses.

Professor: Today, let me illustrate functional fixedness with a classic experiment. In the study, participants were given a box of thumbtacks, a candle, and a book of matches, and asked to attach the candle to the wall so that it could burn without dripping wax on the floor. Many participants tried to melt the candle with matches and stick it to the wall, or use the thumbtacks to pin the candle directly—but none worked. The solution was to empty the thumbtack box, tack it to the wall as a small platform, and place the candle inside. However, most participants failed because they only saw the box as a container for thumbtacks—not as a potential shelf. This shows how functional fixedness made them overlook the box's alternative use. Interestingly, when the thumbtacks were presented separately from the box, participants solved it easily, because the box was no longer 'fixed' as a container.