📖 Reading Passage
In psychology, the concept of 'functional fixedness' refers to a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in its traditional or intended way, thereby hindering creative problem-solving. When individuals encounter a problem requiring an unconventional use of a familiar object, their mental set prevents them from seeing alternative functions. This bias often arises from past experiences and habitual thinking, making it difficult to adapt to new situations. Overcoming functional fixedness requires conscious effort to restructure one’s perception of the object’s potential uses.
🎧 Listening Lecture
Professor: Now, let me illustrate this with a classic experiment. Participants were given a box of tacks, a candle, and a book of matches, and were asked to attach the candle to the wall so that it could burn without dripping wax on the floor. Many struggled. The intended use of the box was to hold the tacks, so they didn’t think of emptying it and tacking it to the wall as a platform for the candle. However, when the tacks were presented separately from the box, participants easily solved the problem by using the box as a shelf. This shows functional fixedness: seeing the box only as a container, not as a potential support. Those who succeeded had to overcome the bias by mentally redefining the box’s function.