Louis needs a screwdriver to fix his remote-controlled care but he doesn't have one on hand. It does not occur to him that the dime in his pocket could serve as a makeshift substitute. This is because he is experiencing ________.
A) mental set
B) prototyping
C) functional fixedness
D) an ill-defined problem

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Louis is experiencing functional fixedness, which is the cognitive bias that limits a person's ability to see an object's potential uses beyond its typical function. In this case, Louis only sees the dime as money and not as a potential tool. Mental set refers to a person's tendency to approach a problem in the same way as they did in the past, while prototyping refers to the creation of a simplified model to represent a complex object or idea. Ill-defined problems are unclear and lack a clear solution.

Louis Needs a Screwdriver to Fix His Remote-Controlled Care but He