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 seeing alternative uses for familiar objects, thereby hindering creative problem-solving. When faced with a novel challenge, people often fail to think beyond an object's typical function, even when a simple repurposing could lead to a solution. Overcoming functional fixedness requires a conscious effort to think abstractly about an object's properties rather than its conventional role.

Professor: Let me illustrate this with a classic experiment. Participants were given a candle, a box of thumbtacks, 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 participants were given the thumbtacks already spilled out of the box, leaving the box empty. Others received the thumbtacks still inside the box. Those who saw the box as a container struggled to solve the problem. But when the box was presented as empty, they quickly realized they could tack the empty box to the wall and place the candle inside it. The first group was stuck because they saw the box only as a holder for thumbtacks—that's functional fixedness. Once they mentally freed the box from its usual role, the solution became obvious.