The German psychologist Karl Duncker did an experiment in the 1930s where he gave subjects a candle, a box of thumbtacks, and a book of matches and asked them to find a way to affix the candle to the wall so that when it was lit, wax from it would not drip onto the floor.

While some succeeded, much more had a hard time realizing that the answer was to simply empty the box of tacks, attach the candle to the inside of the box with melted wax, and then tack the box to the wall. This way, the box acts as a shelf that supports the candle and catches the dripping wax.

But because the box had been presented to subjects as a “tack holder”, they couldn’t see it any other way, and had trouble succeeding, let alone finding a solution to the task presented.

This is what scientists call functional fixedness. It happens when we see a common object and automatically screen out awareness of features that are not important for its use. Strong pre-conceived notions that we develop regarding objects and how we solve challenges using those objects.

Expressed in another way: Functional fixedness is a type of cognitive bias that involves a tendency to see objects as only working in a particular way. These preconceived notions typically develop as we age, and as we gain experience in problem-solving. While this is an efficient neurological tactic for everyday life, it is also an enemy of innovation.

Here are some small, everyday ideas you can use to help prevent functional fixedness –

1. Break Down a Problem into Basic Elements

Think about the hammer and nail scenario. The ultimate goal isn’t just to get a nail into some wood. What you really need to accomplish is getting a long, sharp, metal object into a piece of wood to hold it together. So you ask: What else can be done to accomplish this?

2. Look to Other Areas of Expertise

Sometimes, others who have different backgrounds or experiences come up with different uses for the same objects or different solutions to the same problems. The classic example is someone with long hair using a pencil or pen as a substitute for a hair tie. If you’ve never had long hair, you may never have come up with this idea.

3. Change How You Describe Objects

In the candle experiment of Duncker for example, calling something a “wick” implies its use as a conduit of a flame. Describing it as a “string” however strips away a layer of preconceived uses and suggests less common ones. Suddenly, almost everyone recognizes that it could be used to tie things together!

Functional fixedness is not always a problem. In fact, it can help you accomplish certain tasks without starting from scratch every time. Try to identify when this cognitive bias has positive and negative effects i whatever you are working on. Practice the ideas we shared here, and you may be able to create new ways of thinking that lead to better problem-solving.