candle problem is used in a wide variety of experiments in behavioral science.
Follow along and see how you do.
You sit at a table next to a wooden wall and the experimenter gives you the
materials shown below a candle,
some tacks, and a book of matches.
The candle problem presented.Your job is to attach the candle to the wall so that the wax doesn’t drip on the table. Think fora moment about how you’d solve the problem. Many people begin by trying to tack the candle to the wall. But that doesn’t work.
Some light a match,
melt the side of the candle, and try to adhere it to the wall. That doesn’t work either.
But after five or ten minutes, most people
stumble onto the solution,
which you can see below.
