📖 Reading Passage
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. When faced with a problem, individuals often fail to see alternative uses for familiar objects, which can hinder creative problem-solving. Overcoming functional fixedness requires restructuring one's mental representation of the object's purpose, allowing for novel applications in new contexts.
🎧 Listening Lecture
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 that it could burn properly. One group received the thumbtacks in a small box, while another group received the thumbtacks scattered on a table. Those who got the box of tacks struggled because they saw the box only as a container. But those who got the loose tacks quickly realized they could tack the empty box to the wall and place the candle inside it. The first group suffered from functional fixedness—they couldn't see the box as anything but a holder. Once they mentally 'unfixed' its function, the solution became obvious.