Functional fixedness

Functional fixedness is a bias where we can only think of a narrow set of functions for a tool. A knife is made to cut things. A cotton swab is for cleaning your ears.

It is common to stick to what we know. We become comfortable repeating tasks in a way that fits with our preconceived ideas on how they should be done, especially if these ideas worked in the past. But being stuck in our methods can stop us from discovering better solutions.