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 novel or alternative uses for familiar objects, thereby hindering problem-solving and creativity. Functional fixedness often occurs when people are so accustomed to an object's standard function that they cannot imagine it serving another purpose, even when doing so would solve a current problem effectively.

Professor: Let me illustrate this with a classic experiment. Participants were given a box of tacks, a candle, and a book of matches, and asked to attach the candle to a wall so that it could burn without dripping wax on the floor. Many struggled. The solution was to empty the tack box, tack it to the wall, and use it as a platform for the candle. Most people failed because they saw the box only as a container for tacks—that's functional fixedness. They couldn't think of the box as a shelf. In a second group, the tacks were presented separately, not in the box. In that case, participants quickly solved the problem because they didn't perceive the box as having a fixed 'container' role. So the example shows how our preconceived notions about an object's use can block creative solutions.