Henry's dog, Sparky, has been rolling in the mud. Henry must bathe Sparky before the dog gets mud all over the carpet. However, Henry is unable to find the plug for the tub. Sitting on the counter right beside the tub is a fifty-cent piece. In his frustration, Henry fails to see that the coin could be used as an emergency plug for the tub. What happened to Henry
A)He displayed heuristic processing.
B)He fell prey to the confirmation bias.
C)He suffered from functional fixedness.
D)His thinking was counterfactual.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Henry suffered from functional fixedness, which is a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used, preventing them from seeing a potential alternative use for the object, such as using a coin as a tub plug.

Henry's Dog, Sparky, Has Been Rolling in the Mud