Divergent thinking has been a core technique of good ideation in the design and creative industries for as long as i can remember. Dec 22, 2011 divergent thinking dt tests are among the most popular techniques for measuring creativity. Brainstorming, brainwriting, forced connections, analogies, and metaphors are some of the. Encouraging children to keep on generating new ideas fosters their creative thinking abilities. Techniques of creative thinking linkedin slideshare. Create a repeatable process you can use each time youre attempting to solve a new problem.
The distinction between divergent and convergent thinking implies a dichotomy. When we encourage divergent thinking, we help to maintain childrens motivation and passion for indepth learning. In the contrast technique, yolo provides stimuli unrelated to the storyline that children are exploring at the moment, producing an opportunity to explore new directions in the plot. Lateral thinking involves breaking away from traditional modes of thinking and discarding established patterns and preconceived notions.
Jun 27, 2012 different techniques of creative thinking focus groups brainstorming attribute analysis synectics checklist of questions 6. On the other hand, divergent thinking was equated with creativity and both were not uncommonly presented as competing or. And convergent thinking involves evaluating those options and choosing the most promising one. When children learn how to become comfortable with ambiguities, they. Divergent thinking is the process of generating multiple ideas to maximize the range of possible solutions, applications, examples, etc. Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It is the ability to think creatively or outside the box.
Some examples of divergent tools include brainstorming, keeping a journal, freewriting and mind or subject mapping. Cps asks you to separate your divergent and convergent thinking as a way to do this. Divergent or lateral thinking in 3 simple steps youtube. Convergent thinking an overview sciencedirect topics. During divergent thinking, students should be encouraged to use various divergent thinking techniques. This paper discusses some of the successful creative thinking techniques used by business analysts and describes a generic model which can be used to guide the process. Divergent thinking and the innovation funnel ideo u. Methods involved in convergent thinking also involve recognizing the previously tried out techniques and reapplying them along with the readily stored information. Creative thinking and idea generation mindset in order to be in any profession you need a set of skills and techniques i.
Brainstorming is a technique which involves generating a list of ideas in a creative, unstructured manner. Jun 16, 2017 divergent thinking in 3 simple steps is a crisp 12 minute video that explains how we usually think and what it takes to improve the way we think. They emphasise the generation of ideas and not the. The simplest prerequisite approach is the summation model. Sep 11, 2014 while divergent thinking is useful for developing concepts, ideas or hypotheses, convergent thinking is useful for focusing the analytic effort. Very likely, divergent thinking and convergent thinking are actually two ends of a continuum eysenck 2003. There are two fundamental thinking tools that are very different and, at the same time, very useful in the process of creative thinking. Convergent tools on the other hand, implies that we take several ideas and put them together in a way they can be related. Thus, divergent thinking is relevant in creativity since it generates a big pile of ideas. Creative problemsolving techniques for auditors about this course course description auditors often find themselves searching for ways to go beyond traditional or compliance auditing, trying to find new ways to work with people who have different styles and preferences, while maximizing their strengths. During divergent thinking, students should be encouraged to use various divergent thinking techniques analogical thinking. In an abundance of enthusiasm generated postsputnik 1, the convergent style of thinking was rapidly equated with typical intelligence. Fuel creativity in the classroom with divergent thinking. Divergent thinking tools divergence is the process of thinking broadly.
The more flexible our thinking, the more artistic we will be. Divergent and convergent thinking is not just for creativity in the workplace. Bringing facts and data together from various sources and then applying logic and knowledge to solve problems, achieve objectives or to make informed decisions is known as thinking convergently. In comparison, intuitive techniques are less structured techniques, where the instructor has the option to skip a few steps and allow the participant to give a whole answer at the end, as per his narrative.
Thus, divergent thinking is relevant in creativity since it generates. Ten creative counseling techniques for helping clients. Divergent and convergent thinking skills are both important aspects of intelligence, problem solving and critical thinking. Convergent thinking is a term coined by joy paul guilford as the opposite of divergent thinking. But theres still a lot of potential to expand these techniques. It generally means the ability to give the correct answer to standard questions that do not require significant creativity, for instance in most tasks in school and on standardized multiplechoice tests for intelligence. Pdf divergent thinking as an indicator of creative potential. Divergent thinking techniques discrepancy and functional creativity. The goal of divergent thinking is to generate many different ideas about a topic in a short period of time. It can apply to any area of human thought including strategy, value creation, decision making, problem solving, artistic pursuits and social interaction.
Colzato ls, ozturk a and hommel b 2012 meditate to create. This may make the most sense, given we know about individual differences they tend to fall along continua, and it is. Making as many mistakes as possible as quickly as possible means youre. Choosing what to wear in the morning is an exercise in divergent and convergent thinking. Encouraging children to keep on generating new ideas fosters their creativethinking abilities. Grouping and its corollary, establishing relationships is probably the most useful of the convergent thinking. You start by looking in your closet to explore options. Growth mindset divergent thinking skills questions. Divergent thinking involves artistry which is associated with the right brain while convergent thinking encompasses logical reasoning which employs the left brain. Deliberation on the concept and benefits of divergent thinking will lead to identifying various meansmethods of cultivating and strengthening. Contrast this technique is used to stimulate divergent thinking 27.
The goal of brainstorming is to generate as many ideas as possible in a short period of time. Lateral thinking techniques performance excellence. Modulation of convergent and divergent thinking by transcranial direct current stimulation tdcs, creativity research journal, 27. It is often compared with the wishful thinking technique. Nov 17, 2017 convergent thinking doesnt always involve seeking out new procedures to solve the problem. Preparation acquisition of skills, techniques, and. Comparative study of structural and procedural techniques in architectural design. Divergent thinking vs convergent thinking think company. Being part of this ideation can be easy and fun for some, while it can require a lot of effort and work from others. Valid reasons why divergent thinking is often discouraged in classrooms. This resource provides questions that encourage students to problem solve and consider lots of answers to questions that dont have just one right answer. Divergent thinking is inquiring, searching around, often leading to unconventional and unexpected answers the kind which would probably not bring you a high grade on the usual school examination. Gene balinggan is a registered psychologist, licensed professional teacher, and a freelance academic and. Amabile suggests that key aspects of creative thinking are.
Divergent thinking techniques discrepancy and functional. Divergent thinking seeks understanding the problem from multiple perspectives and generating multiple solutions. It is often used in conjunction with its cognitive colleague, convergent thinking, which follows a particular set of logical steps to arrive at one solution, which in some cases is a correct solution. When children learn how to become comfortable with ambiguities, they are developing complex thinking skills. Pdf divergent thinking techniques discrepancy and functional. I have found that there are three crucial convergent thinking techniques. Bringing facts and data together from various sources and then applying logic and knowledge to solve problems, achieve objectives or to make informed decisions is. These tools are classified according to their primary use of related or unrelated problem stimuli.
Three convergent thinking techniques every analyst should. Analysis of the effects of divergent thinking techniques and domain specific knowledge on creativity. As an engineer, you need both, and you can only hope to be creative through a combination of both. However, these techniques differ in the process which definitely can affect the product. Divergent thinking is the process of generating lots of potential solutions and possibilities, otherwise known as brainstorming.
Teaching and learning of divergent and convergent thinking. Feb 26, 2017 this way of thinking is referred to as divergent thinking and it goes hand in hand with creativity. Divergent thinking develops and broadens out thinking process while thinking. Difference between divergent thinking and convergent thinking. It generally means the ability to give the correct answer to standard questions that do not require significant creativity, for instance in most tasks in school and. Divergent and convergent thinkingtools laura miralda.
Its a straight forward process that focuses on figuring out the most effective answer to a problem. Creative techniques used in design lack a scientific base and lack an evaluation of their effectiveness. Ultimate guide to using meditation for creativity tutorial. Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring.
Creative thinking while both amabile and gardner assert that thinking is a key aspect of the creative process, they address this topic at a high level. Divergent thinking is a longer process as compared to convergent thinking. Nov 17, 2017 convergent vs divergent thinking, differences. Software architecture for yolo, a creativitystimulating robot. According to jacobs 1992, the use of creative counseling techniques fulfills a counselors need for a multifaceted approach to helping clients. Convergent thinking requieres a deep analysis of the situation to be able to come up with a solution. Tools used during the divergent phases of the cps to improve the generation of ideas, thoughts, or data without evaluation. However, the validity evidence for dt tests, as applied in educational settings, is inconsistent partly due to different scoring methods.
Creative counseling approaches and specifically the use of creative techniques allows the counselor to approach an issue from a multisensory vantage point, tapping into a clients visual. Focus groups a focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their attitude towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. To be innovative and inventive, we need to be good at divergent and convergent thinking. The assumptions technique aims at overcoming your thinking habits in order to create. Divergent thinking and the design process semantic scholar. Three convergent thinking techniques every analyst should master. Divergent thinking is the process of thinking that explores multiple possible solutions in order to generate creative ideas. Apr 29, 2015 when it comes to problem solving and idea generation, two ways are commonly cited, namely divergent and convergent thinking strategies. The process is based on separating divergent and convergent thinking styles, so that you can focus your mind on creating at the first stage, and then evaluating at the second stage. Lateral thinking is the mental process of generating ideas and solving problems by looking at a situation or problem from a unique perspective. Comfort in disagreeing with others and trying solutions that depart from the status quo. Azmi, 1974 chadha and used to generate creative ideas by. How to use divergent and convergent thinking to improve. It typically occurs in a spontaneous, freeflowing, nonlinear manner, such that many ideas are generated in an emergent cognitive fashion.
Creativity is the ability to transcend obvious, static or repetitive thinking to come up with new ideas. Spend more time in divergent thinking and use a variety of ideation methods. Divergent thinking treats all ideas equally divergent thinking is often hard to measure divergent behavior in larger classrooms might cause disruption. Pdf a study of convergent thinking and divergent thinking. The process of figuring out a concrete solution to any problem is called convergent thinking. Many possible solutions are explored in a short amount of time, and unexpected. Creative thinking and idea generation newcastle university. Ten creative counseling techniques for helping clients deal. Creative problem solving cps is a way of using your creativity to develop new ideas and solutions to problems. Creative problem solving and design thinking epale. Jan 01, 2018 being creative is about thinking in different ways.