TOEFL Speaking Task 3

In psychology, the concept of 'functional fixedness' refers to a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in its traditional manner. This mental block prevents individuals from recognizing novel uses for familiar items, thereby hindering problem-solving. The term was introduced by Gestalt psychologist Karl Duncker, who demonstrated that people often fail to see alternative functions of objects when faced with a new challenge. Overcoming functional fixedness requires creative thinking and the ability to mentally restructure the problem.

Professor: Today, let's look at a classic experiment by Karl Duncker that illustrates functional fixedness. In the study, participants were given a box of tacks, a candle, and a book of matches, and asked to attach the candle to the wall so that it could burn without dripping wax on the floor. Many participants tried to tack the candle directly to the wall or melt wax to stick it, but these failed. The solution was to empty the tack box, tack it to the wall as a shelf, and place the candle inside. However, most participants couldn't see the box as anything other than a container for tacks. That's functional fixedness—they were fixated on the box's standard function and missed its potential as a platform. Only when the tacks were presented separately from the box did participants solve it easily.