托福口语 Task 3

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 uses for familiar objects, thereby hindering creative problem-solving. In psychology, overcoming functional fixedness often requires a conscious effort to think beyond conventional functions and consider an object's properties independently of its typical purpose.

Professor: Let me illustrate this with a classic experiment. Participants were given a box of thumbtacks, a candle, and a book of matches, and were asked to attach the candle to a wall so that it could burn without dripping wax on the floor. Many struggled because they saw the box only as a container for the tacks. They tried to tack the candle directly to the wall or melt wax to stick it, but nothing worked. The solution was to empty the box, tack it to the wall, and place the candle inside. But to see this, they had to overcome functional fixedness—they had to realize the box could serve as a platform, not just a container. Once they broke that mental set, the answer was simple.