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 typical function, even when a simple solution requires such flexibility. Overcoming functional fixedness requires deliberately re-evaluating objects’ properties and potential roles in a given situation.

Professor: Let me give you a classic example. In a study, participants were given a box of thumbtacks, 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 participants struggled. They tried to tack the candle directly to the wall or melt wax to stick it—both failed. The solution was to empty the thumbtack box, tack it to the wall as a shelf, and place the candle inside. The box was right there, but because participants saw it only as a container for tacks, they couldn’t think of it as a platform. That’s functional fixedness—they were stuck on the box’s usual purpose. Once they reimagined the box as a support, the problem was solved.