In man, everything should be harmonious: body, inner world, thinking. Unfortunately, sometimes, one of these components fails, and then fatigue appears, dissatisfaction with oneself and the world around us, a creative crisis, the inability to concentrate on one lesson for a long time and finish the job.
The outstanding psychologist of the 20th century Edward de Bono and his method
Often a similar problem is faced by people in creative professions. At one time, the writer and psychologist, an Englishman by birth, Edward de Bono, was closely involved in solving this problem.
The future expert in the field of creative thinking was born in 1933. He studied at Oxford, Trinity College, Cambridge and Dundee University. He has a master's degree in psychology, a doctorate in science in medicine and a doctorate in law.
De Bono is the author of such recognized bestsellers as “Using Out-of-the-Box Thinking”, “Birth of a New Idea”, “Out-of-the-Box Thinking: Creativity Step by Step”.
The book "Six Hats of Thinking" was published in the 80s. It very easily describes the principles of thinking displayed in the human brain.
The 6 hats method is one of the most productive ways to help organize your thinking. The book deals with auxiliary techniques that allow you to structure collective, personal mental activity, and make it as productive as possible.
And recently, this method has been very popular, because with it you can find new, original answers to the tasks.
The principle of the six hat method
The basis of the author’s method is the principle of parallel thinking. As you know, this or that judgment follows from disputes and discussions. This approach does not guarantee the veracity and reliability of the statement that prevailed in the debate. Usually the winner is the one who more eloquently proves his opinion.
In parallel (critical) thinking, the methods of opposition are not applied: ideas, judgments, and various approaches exist and are accepted, but they do not collide and do not mutually exclusive.
Critical judgment is one of the types of intellectual activity of a person that allows you to consider the existing problem from different angles to find the right solution. It is characterized by a high degree of perception and an objective approach to the information that is available.
What affects decision making
Many factors affect a person in the process of making this or that decision. The "6 hats" method allows you to cope with the main factors that affect a person at the time of choice.
- Emotions Strong emotions can temporarily turn off sober thinking, and determine all further actions of a person, following the emotional component.
- Confusion is an indispensable companion in solving any new task that a person has not previously encountered. It is present when finding answers to multilevel tasks.
- Confusion . A lot of conflicting opinions, a large amount of information, the desire to be logical and consistent, combining all this with a high degree of creativity does not cause anything but confusion and confusion.
The Six Hats of Thinking method allows you to overcome the above difficulties by dividing the thinking process into 6 different modes, each of which corresponds to a hat of a certain color in this method. Such thinking allows you to develop focus, and the ability to analyze the problem from different angles in turn.
Hats that think
- White hat thinking. Wearing a white hat, you need to concentrate on all the data that is available: these are facts and numbers. And you also need to think about possibly missing information, and how to fill in such gaps.
- A red hat is a hat of emotions. Staying in this mode, you can succumb to emotions. A person should be honest with himself, or with other interlocutors, when it comes to group discussion. Everyone should share their feelings, fears, joy when analyzing this or that decision. There is no need to be afraid of negative emotions, since they, along with positive ones, play a role in making the right decision.
- The next hat is responsible for optimism. A yellow hat implies only a positive attitude. Putting it on, it is necessary to determine the positive aspects of each of the decisions or ideas. Even if the option under discussion, it would seem, does not bode well, it is important to work out exactly the hidden beneficial resources.
- The exact opposite of a yellow hat is black. Here it is already necessary to think about the hidden threats lurking in every decision. What pitfalls await a person with this, or another variant of events. What will be the losses, and can they be avoided? It will be easy to imagine yourself as a pessimist, because in every decision there is always a share of negative phenomena.
- A green hat means flying imagination and creativity. The green hat encourages the search for new, innovative solutions. Bold ideas, improving existing practices, spying on methods of opponents, brainstorming - all this takes place in the "green hat" mode.
- A blue hat is a hat of thinking over the implementation of a chosen idea, its embodiment in reality. You no longer need to think about the advantages and disadvantages, just implement a deliberate decision.
Who should use this method?
Six hats of thinking have proven themselves in any kind of mental activity. Personally, the method helps a lot in writing a resume or business letter, solving difficult life situations, planning important events.
In a group, the method has much in common with brainstorming. It is also effective in resolving disputes and conflicts.
The "6 hats" method has long been used by leading international companies.
Benefits of the 6 Hats Method
- Thinking activity for most people seems to be a very boring task. But this system is able to entice and make this process a kind of experiment, upon completion of which the problems, as never happened.
- The method allows you to work out the task from all sides, paying attention to such important aspects as emotions, analysis of positive and negative aspects, generation of new ideas.
- The system of "6 hats" allows you to discard all false statements that were previously taken seriously.
- It is possible to smooth the dispute with the opponent by showing, using the method, the incorrectness of his statements. And also a person will get a chance to speak and share his thoughts. The hat method greatly simplifies the search for the right solutions.
- The system allows reserved and shy people to express themselves in a general discussion. They should not be ashamed of their thoughts, even when they do not coincide with the opinions of others. It turns out that they speak under the influence of one of the hats, and not on their own.
- Due to the structuring of the whole process, excluding empty chatter, thinking becomes targeted, logical and concentrated.
- Due to the fact that opposing points of view do not conflict, but exist simultaneously, new unique and interesting ideas are born.
- Using the method, a person learns to concentrate his attention, as well as switch it from one type of information to another.
- According to Edward de Bono, his method is able to influence the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain.
- The main difficulty in mastering the "6 hats" method is the system technology itself. It will take some time to master it. In addition, it is much faster to learn to understand the system, working alone than in a group.
- Few of the leaders of domestic events are ready to introduce such innovations, and even more so to explain to the team all the principles of innovation.
- Significant eloquence and patience will be required to inspire the collective to master the six-hat method. Many people may not agree to participate in this kind of project, considering it childish, or a waste of time.
Cons of Edward de Bono Method
- The main disadvantage, although probably not even a minus, but the complexity is the technology of six hats. That is, in order to master this technique and usefully learn how to apply it, it takes some time. It is easier to solve issues using the six hats individually, but in a team it is much more difficult to do.
- If you are not the immediate supervisor, initiating this method at the enterprise and explaining all its advantages is not an easy task. Most domestic enterprises are not ready to introduce innovations in the work of companies that require personal involvement.
- In addition to the need to convince management of the need for this method, there is also the moment of seriousness of its perception directly by the team. Someone may consider it “childish” and refuse to try on colored hats (although no hats really need to be worn), explaining that he is not a clown. However, here again the matter lies in the professionalism of the presenter (moderator, i.e., blue hat).
How it works
The book "Six Hats of Thinking" by Edward de Bono provides recommendations for translating the system into reality. With the collective use of the method, it is necessary to have a moderator who will lead the entire process.
The host writes on paper the “testimonies” of each of the hats, summing up all the results at the end.
Let us consider in more detail what the "6 hats of thinking" method looks like.
Examples of situations:
- The presenter briefly introduces all the participants to the task of each of the hats, then a problem is voiced, for the sake of solving which everything was started. For example: "A competitor company offered cooperation in the field of ... What are the proposals?"
- Further, all participants try on a white hat, and take turns sharing their thoughts, according to the concept of a hat.
- It is not necessary to follow a clear sequence of hats, but some sequence is necessary.
- You can use this order: in a white hat, all data on the subject of discussion (numbers, statistics, conditions) is collected.
- Next, you should try on a black hat , and look at the situation from the pessimistic side, you should try to see a fly in the ointment, even if everything seems to be fine.
- Wearing a yellow hat, embark on a positive mindset.
- Staying in a green hat, each session participant puts forward new, alternative ideas. Creative thinking should work to the maximum. New ideas are again analyzed from the positive and negative sides.
- Do not forget to periodically let off steam in a red hat. This hat is rarely worn and for a short period of time, not more than 30 seconds.
- At the end of the overall work, the moderator summarizes. It is also the moderator’s responsibility to ensure that everyone wears the same hats during the discussion and is not confused in their judgments.
You can work in a different way. Let each of the participants put on hats of different colors, while it is important that the color contradict the personal qualities of the person. For example, a pessimist puts on a black hat, and vice versa, a taciturn tries on a green hat, a red hat will decorate the head of a balanced project participant. Thus, all participants will be able to reach their potential.
The advantage is given to the first method, since it avoids confusion among the participants in the session.
Intelligence card as an addition to the six-hat method
When working with the six-hat method, it is advisable to use a smart card. What it is? This is a representation of any event or idea in a systematic, graphic form. It allows you to trace and identify all semantic and causal relationships between the objects and concepts under consideration.
Such a card allows you to sort all the information into shelves without wasting time on unnecessary, absolutely unnecessary information, as is often the case with a verbal presentation of the essence of the problem.
In fact, an intelligence card is a visual representation of the work of the human brain. It consists of neurons and their processes, which are interconnected by neural processes. Each image and thought stimulate one or another neural segment. Cards are presented as images of complex mental connections that help the brain organize phenomena and objects.
The main goal of creating such cards is to restore order in the head, structuring all the information known on this matter. This will allow you to make a full picture, and look at it from different angles. Intelligence - cards allow you to better operate with data, and contribute to greater freedom of thought.
The six-hat method of Edward de Bono, complete with intelligence cards, is widely used by entrepreneurs, designers, scientists, teachers, and other professions. Many successful people in the West admit that they often resort to this method.
Application of the method in the school curriculum
The de Beaune method is used in schools, in particular in Europe, America, and some Asian countries, starting from the elementary grades.
The "6 hats of thinking" method in elementary school gives excellent results in the future. This technology is of interest to the teaching staff, thanks to the following results.
- Children quickly learn to think critically, which helps them become more independent and independent. In the future, there will be no insoluble tasks for them.
- Information serves only as a starting point, but not in any way final. This is an auxiliary tool on the way to the emergence of a unique solution for both simple and difficult tasks.
- Thanks to the method, a rather boring educational process for a student turns into a real intellectual activity that gives real results and allows you to find alternative solutions to even very unusual questions. Studying data, analyzing information, considering various points of view, participating in a collective discussion, students learn to find answers to their questions.
- Pupils learn to convincingly argue their arguments using reasonable evidence (information text, personal experience, statistics).
Pupils apply critical thinking in many types of educational activities, including in writing. In this case, the teacher can read the student’s train of thought, his thinking process, and evaluate the correctness of his conclusions.
Children like to work according to the method of 6 hats, because it allows not only to find answers to the questions posed, but also to have fun.
Critical thinking is available to students in both high school and junior. For young students, to master it will be in a sense even easier. Parallel thinking involves a certain amount of skepticism and doubt in generally accepted truths. It also allows you to develop your own point of view and be able to defend it.
The technology of parallel (critical) thinking has many methods that are used in the sequential implementation of each stage of the educational process. The six-hat method is one of the most effective ways to learn to think critically.