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 uses for familiar objects, thereby hindering creative problem-solving. Functional fixedness often arises because past experiences and established schemas strongly associate an object with its conventional function, making it difficult to perceive novel applications. Overcoming this bias requires deliberately restructuring one's perception of the object's potential.

Professor: Let me illustrate functional fixedness 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 struggled. They tried to tack the candle directly to the wall, but it broke, or to melt wax to stick it, but it fell. The solution was to empty the thumbtack box, tack it to the wall as a shelf, and place the candle inside. Those who failed saw the box only as a container for thumbtacks, not as a potential shelf. This is functional fixedness—they couldn't see beyond the box's typical role.