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Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that limits a person to use an object only in the way it is traditionally used. The concept of functional fixedness originated in Gestalt psychology , a movement in psychology that emphasizes holistic processing.
A specific form of mental set is functional fixedness, in which someone fails to see the variety of uses to which an object can be put. [3] [6] [9] An example would be someone who needs a weight but fails to use an easily available hammer because their mental set is to think of a hammer as for a specific purpose. [6]
In psychology, rigidity, or mental rigidity, refers to an obstinate inability to yield or a refusal to appreciate another person's viewpoint or emotions and the tendency to perseverate, which is the inability to change habits and modify concepts and attitudes once developed.
Karl Duncker, another Gestalt psychologist who studied problem solving, [45]: 370 coined the term functional fixedness for describing the difficulties in both visual perception and problem solving that arise from the fact that one element of a whole situation already has a (fixed) function that has to be changed in order to perceive something ...
Functional fixedness, a tendency limiting a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used. [16] Law of the instrument, an over-reliance on a familiar tool or methods, ignoring or under-valuing alternative approaches. "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."
Functional fixedness is the tendency to ascribe specific functions to respective objects. Dunker sees functional fixedness as a "Mental block against using an object in a new way that is required to solve a problem", as described in his cognitive performance test, known as the candle problem .
The mental techniques to identify, analyze, and solve problems are studied in psychology and cognitive sciences. Also widely researched are the mental obstacles that prevent people from finding solutions; problem-solving impediments include confirmation bias, mental set, and functional fixedness.
An example water jar puzzle. The water jar test, first described in Abraham S. Luchins' 1942 classic experiment, [1] is a commonly cited example of an Einstellung situation. . The experiment's participants were given the following problem: there are 3 water jars, each with the capacity to hold a different, fixed amount of water; the subject must figure out how to measure a certain amount of ...