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 problem-solving and creative thinking. When faced with a new challenge, people often overlook novel functions of items because they are fixed on their typical purpose, which can impede finding effective solutions.

Professor: So, let me give you a classic example of functional fixedness. Imagine you're in a room with a candle, a box of thumbtacks, and a book of matches. Your task is to attach the candle to the wall so that it can burn without dripping wax on the floor. Many people try to thumbtack the candle directly to the wall or melt the wax to stick it, but these fail. The key is to empty the thumbtack box, tack it to the wall, and use it as a shelf for the candle. But most people don't think of using the box as a holder because they see it only as a container for thumbtacks. That's functional fixedness—they're stuck on the box's typical function. Once they realize the box can serve as a platform, the problem is solved easily.