Functional Fixedness Essay

It is more to psychology than diagnostics and doctors. The findings of psychology can be attributed to humans and sometimes animals, and may help us understand the world around us. Many times we can attribute psychology to our everyday lives. For example, today I needed to figure out a way to get the dried up glue out of the hole where the glue is supposed to come out. I tried to get it out with my finger nail and when that did not seem to work, I gave up. My roommate suggested I use the hair pin in my head to dig out the glue. I did not think of this solution because I had functional fixedness. Functional fixedness is a bias in which a person is limited to using an object only for its traditional purpose. I did not think of using the hair pin for any other action than to pin my hair, therefore being

Another example relates to mental sets. Recently, my phone had been malfunctioning, most likely because the number of times I had dropped it. Usually, I turn it off, charge it, and turn it back on to fix it. When that solution did not work, I became stuck in what is known as a mental set. Mental sets is defined as the tendency to see only the solutions that have worked in the past, limiting one’s range of thinking. Because I limited myself to the only solution that worked in the past, I was unable to generate another set of solutions that could possible fix my phone.
Personal experiences may also relate to psychology. For instance, when I was not feeling well I went to the emergency room to get checked out. Because I grew sick right after drinking two cups of coffee, I assumed it was the coffee that caused my illness. What I did not realize is that I was falling into the