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 items, thereby hindering problem-solving and creativity. Functional fixedness often occurs when people are so accustomed to an object's standard function that they cannot imagine novel applications, even when such applications would solve a current 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. Many participants tried to melt wax to stick the candle, or tack the candle directly to the wall—both failed. The solution was to empty the thumbtack box, tack it to the wall as a small shelf, and place the candle inside. But most people couldn’t see the box as anything but a container for thumbtacks. That’s functional fixedness—they were stuck on the box’s traditional role, missing its potential as a platform. Once they broke that mental set, the problem became easy.