Elise wants to get an apple off of a tree but she only has a baseball bat with her, rather than a ladder or stepstool. She does not think to use the bat to gently knock a few apples off of the tree. The fact that Elise believes that the baseball bat can be used only to play baseball is an example of ________.
A) functional rigidity
B) problem-solving fixedness
C) functional fixedness
D) preparedness

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Functional fixedness is the cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used, which is demonstrated by Elise's inability to consider using the baseball bat as a tool to knock apples off the tree.

Elise Wants to Get an Apple Off of a Tree