A loose screw on the visor causes it to drop down while Ramón drives; however, he keeps forgetting to take a screwdriver out to the car to fix it. When he notices the visor drop again, he reaches into his pocket for a dime and uses it to tighten the screw holding the visor. What problem-solving difficulty did Ramón overcome?
A) relative comparison
B) functional fixedness
C) poor problem representation
D) the representativeness heuristic

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Ramón overcame functional fixedness by using a dime instead of a screwdriver to tighten the screw. Functional fixedness is a problem-solving difficulty in which a person is unable to see an object as having a use other than its traditional use. In this case, a dime was used in a non-traditional way to solve the problem. The other options are not applicable to the situation described.

A Loose Screw on the Visor Causes It to Drop