Question

When ordering boots online, Rachel wanted to check her calf size to see if she needed wide calf boots. She didn't have a tape measure, so instead used a charger cord, wrapped it around her calf, marked where it met with tape, then laid out the cord and measured the length using the ruler app on iPhone. In this case, Rachel has solved the problem by

a.
using functional fixedness.


b.
overcoming functional fixedness.


c.
better defining her problem-solving set.


d.
the hill-climbing heuristic.

Answer 1

Rachel overcame functional fixedness by using a charger cord as a makeshift tape measure to determine her calf size for boots.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Rachel used a charger cord as an improvised measuring tool to check her calf size for boots, she demonstrated overcoming functional fixedness. Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used. However, Rachel showed creativity by repurposing an everyday object to solve her problem, illustrating the process of overcoming functional fixedness, which is the correct answer to her question, option (b).