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 imagining alternative functions for familiar items, thereby hindering creative problem-solving. When faced with a new challenge, people often fail to see beyond an object's standard purpose, even when a novel use would solve the problem effectively.

Professor: Let me illustrate this with a classic experiment. Participants were given a box of thumbtacks, a candle, and a book of matches. Their task was to attach the candle to a wall so that it could burn without dripping wax on the floor. Some people tried to melt the candle and stick it to the wall, or nail it with tacks—none worked. But the solution was to empty the thumbtack box, tack it to the wall as a shelf, and place the candle inside. Why did so many fail? Because they saw the box only as a container for tacks, not as a potential shelf. That's functional fixedness—they couldn't break free from the box's usual role. Once someone pointed out using the box as a holder, the solution became obvious.