Definition: Describes the tendency for people to be unable to view resources beyond their 'intended purpose'.
Insight: The result of functional fixedness is that we try to acquire as many resources as possible to face challenges, often a distraction from getting things done.
Insight: As we age, we are more tied to convention or our own patterns, and find it harder to envision things beyond common uses.
Insight: Children, often without experience using particular objects, are least prone to functional fixedness.
Insight: We can adopt a 'stretching' mindset to break free of convention and the fixed view of resources.
Insight: We often don't need more resources to solve problems, but a different way of looking at what we already have.
Reference: Psychologist Karl Duncker - defines functional fixedness as a "mental block against using an object in a new way that is required to solve a problem."
Example: The Candle Problem, designed by Karl Duncker. Fix a candle to the wall with a box of thumbtacks and matches. Most tried to pin the candle to the wall using the thumbtacks, or melt it to the wall with the matches, with neither approach working. They overlooked the solution - to use the box that the thumbtacks was in to stand the candle on by fixing it to the wall with the thumbtacks. Most saw the box for its traditional purpose - to hold the thumbtacks.
Insight: We fixate on the function for things that we already know.
Principle: Ask: "If you didn't know what this item is for, what else could you do with it?"
Example: Cooking can involve thinking outside traditional ingredients or uses for each ingredient.
Reference: Karl Duncker, The Candle Problem.
Insight: Recognising the capability of objects to serve other functions requires mental restructuring so we don't fall into our cognitive bias.
Principles: (1) Understand the problem and the resources at your disposal (2) Break the problem into individual steps (3) Explore different possibilities for each step.
Definition: The failure to use items in unusual ways.
Example: The Candle Problem. Subjects were asked to fix a candle to the wall using a box of thumbtacks and some matches. They had difficulty viewing the box as something that could hold the candle, as it was viewed as a container for the thumbtacks.
Insight: Functional fixedness is an example of a 'thinking rut'.
Definition: People have a tendency to only consider familiar uses for objects.
Example: The Candle Problem. Fix a candle to the wall with a box of tacks and matches.
Insight: When the tacks are presented outside the box, participants in the candle problem are more likely to solve it, as they see the box as separate from its usual function, to hold the tacks.
Example: The Candle Problem. Fix a candle to the wall with a box of tacks and matches.
Insight: The Candle Problem requires creative thinking to not be stuck in functional fixedness. People were more likely to solve the Candle Problem after watching a funny film - laughter can promote creative thinking.
Key Insights & Principles
Creativity & Problem Solving
We have a tendency to consider only the traditional function of resources.
As we age, we are more tied to convention or our own patterns, and find it harder to be creative with uses for things.
Functional fixedness can lead us to trying to acquire more and more resources, without getting things done with what we have.
Often it is not more resources that we need to solve problems, but a different way of looking at what we already have.
Ask: "If you didn't know what this item is for, what else could you do with it?"
Break problems and resources down into their raw parts and explore different possibilities for solutions.
