Method "6 hats of thinking" by Edward de Bono: basic principles, examples

In a person everything should be harmonious: body, inner world, thinking. Unfortunately, sometimes, one of these components fails, and then there is fatigue, discontent with yourself and the world around you, a creative crisis, the inability to concentrate on one session for a long time and bring it to the end.

An outstanding psychologist of the 20th century Edward de Bono and his method

Often people of creative professions are faced with a similar problem. A writer and psychologist, an Englishman by birth, Edward de Bono, took up the problem in his time.

Future expert in the field of creative thinkingwas born in 1933. He studied at Oxford, Trinity College, Cambridge and Dundee University. Has a master's degree in psychology, a doctorate in medicine and a doctorate in jurisprudence.

De Bono is the author of such recognized best-sellers as "Use of non-standard thinking", "Birth of a new idea", "Unconventional thinking: creativity step by step".

In the 80's, the book "Six Hats of Thinking" was published. It is very easy to describe the principles of thinking, reflected in the human brain.

The method of "6 hats" is one of the most productiveways to help organize your thinking. The book deals with auxiliary techniques that allow structuring collective, personal thought activity, and make it as productive as possible.

And recently, this method is very popular, because with it you can find new, original answers to the tasks.

The principle of the method of six hats

The basis of the method of the author of the book is the principleparallel thinking. As you know, this or that proposition arises from disputes and discussions. Such an approach does not guarantee the truthfulness and credibility of the statement that won in the process of polemics. Usually the winner is the one who more eloquently proves his opinion.

With parallel (critical) thinking methods of opposition do not apply: ideas, judgments, and various approaches exist and are accepted, but do not collide and do not mutually exclude each other.

Critical judgment is one of the typesintellectual activity of a person, which allows us 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 information that is available.

What influences decision making

Many factors affect a person in the process of making a decision. The method of "6 hats" allows you to cope with the main factors that affect the person at the time of choice.

1. Emotions. Strong emotions can temporarily turn off sober thinking, and determine all the further actions of a person, following the emotional component.
2. Confusion - an indispensable companion in the solution of any new task that a person has not previously encountered. It is also present when there are answers to multilevel tasks.
3. Confusion. A lot of contradictory opinions,a large amount of information, the desire to be logical and consistent, the combination of all this with a high degree of creativity does not cause anything but confusion and confusion.

The method "Six Hats of Thinking" allows you to overcomethe above difficulties by dividing the process of thinking into 6 different modes, each of which corresponds in this method to a hat of a certain color. This thinking allows you to develop concentration, and the ability to analyze the problem from different sides in turn.

Hats that think

1. White hat thinking. Putting on a hat of white color, it is necessaryconcentrate on all the data that is available: these are facts and numbers. And also you need to think about, perhaps, missing information, and ways of filling such gaps.
2. The red hat is the hat of emotions. Staying in this mode, you can give in to emotions. A person should be honest with himself, or with other interlocutors, if it is a question of group discussion. Everyone should share their experiences, fears, joy in analyzing this or that decision. There is no need to be afraid of negative emotions, since they, along with positive ones, play their role in making the right decision.
3. The next hat is responsible for optimism. Yellow hat implies only positivemood. Putting it on, it is necessary to determine the positive aspects of each decision or idea. Even if the discussed option, it would seem, does not bode well, it is important to work out hidden hidden resources.
4. The opposite of the yellow hat is black. Here you have to think about hidden threats,thawing in every decision. What pitfalls await a person in this or that variant of events. What will be the losses, and can they be avoided? It will be easy to imagine yourself a pessimist, because in every decision there is always a share of negative phenomena.
5. The Green Hat means a flight of fantasy and creativity. The green hat encourages the search for new, non-standard solutions. Bold ideas, the improvement of existing developments, peeping techniques from opponents, brainstorming - all this takes place in the "green hat" mode.
6. The blue hat - this is the hat thinking over the realization of the chosen idea, the embodiment of it into reality. No need to think more about the advantages and disadvantages, only to implement a deliberate decision.

Who is this method for?

Six hats of thought have proven themselvesat any kind of mental activity. On a personal level, the method well helps in writing a resume or business letter, solving complex life situations, planning important events.

In a group, the method has much in common with brainstorming. It is also effective in resolving disputed and conflict situations.

The method of "6 hats" has long been used by leading international companies.

Advantages of the "6 hats" method

1. Thinking activity for most peopleseems a very boring occupation. But this system is able to lure and make this process a kind of experiment, at the end of which the problem, as never happened.
2. The method allows us to work out the problem from all sides, paying attention to such important aspects as emotions, the analysis of positive and negative aspects, the generation of new ideas.
3. The "6 Hats" system allows you to drop all false statements that were previously taken seriously.
4. You can smooth out the dispute with your opponent, showing withusing the method, the incorrectness of its statements. And also a person will get a chance to express themselves and share their thoughts. The method of hats makes it much easier to find the right solutions.
5. The system allows closed and shy peoplemanifest themselves in a general discussion. They should not be shy of their thoughts, even when they do not coincide with the opinion of others. It turns out that they speak under the influence of one of the hats, and not from themselves.
6. Thanks to the structuring of the whole process, excluding empty chatter, thinking becomes objective, logical and concentrated.
7. Due to the fact that opposite points of view do not conflict, but exist simultaneously, new unique and interesting ideas are born.
8. Using the method, a person learns to concentrate his attention, and also switch it from one kind of information to another.
9. According to Edward de Bono, his method is able to influence the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain.
10. The main difficulty in mastering the method of "6 hats"is the technology of the system itself. It takes some time to master it. In addition, it is much faster to learn to understand the system, working alone, rather than in a group.
11. Few of the leaders of domestic events are ready to introduce such innovations, let alone explain to the team all the principles of innovation.
12. To inspire the team to master the methodsix hats, will require considerable eloquence, and patience. Many people may not agree to participate in a project of this kind, considering it a childish, or a waste of time.

The disadvantages of the method of Edward de Bono

• The main minus, although probably not even a minus,and the complexity is the technology itself of the six hats. That is, in order to master this technique and use it to learn how to apply it, it takes some time. It's easier to solve problems using the reception of six hats individually, but in a team this is much more difficult.
• If you are not directleader, initiate this method at the enterprise and explain all its advantages - the task is not simple. Most domestic enterprises are not ready to introduce innovations into the company's work, requiring personal involvement.
• In addition to the need to convince managementthe need for this method, there is also a moment of seriousness of his perception directly by the team. Someone may consider him "childish" and refuse to try on colored hats (although no hats really need to be worn), explaining this by saying that he is not a clown. However, here again it is in the professionalism of the moderator (the moderator, that is, the blue hat).

How it works

The book "The Six Hats of Thinking" by Edward de Bonoleads recommendations on the implementation of the system in reality. When using the method collectively, it is necessary to have a moderator who will lead the entire process.

The presenter records on paper the "readings" of each of the hats, summing all the results at the end.

Let's consider in more detail how the method of "6 hats of thinking" looks.

Examples of situations:

• The facilitator briefly acquaints all participants withthe task of each of the hats, then the problem is voiced, for the solution of which everything started. For example: "A competitive firm offered cooperation in the field of ... What are the proposals?"
• Next, all participants try on a white hat, and in turn share their reasoning, according to the concept of a hat.
• It is not necessary to follow a clear sequence of hats, but a certain sequence is necessary.
• You can use this order: in a white hat all data about the subject of discussion (numbers, statistics, conditions) are collected.
• Next, try on a black hat, and look at the situation from a pessimistic side, it is worth trying to see a fly in the ointment, even if it seems that everything is fine.
• Putting on a yellow hat, stand on a positive way of thinking.
• Staying in a green hat, each participant of the session puts forward new, alternative ideas. Creative thinking should work at maximum. New ideas are again analyzed from the positive and negative sides.
• Do not forget to periodically release steam in a red hat. This hat is worn rarely and for a short period of time, not more than 30 seconds.
• At the end of the general work, the moderator sums up the results. It is also the duty of the moderator to monitor that during the discussion everyone wear the same hats, and not be confused in the judgments.

You can work in a different way. Let each of the participants wear hats of different colors, while it is important that the color is contrary to the personal qualities of a person. For example, a pessimist puts on a black hat, and vice versa, a silent person tries on a green, red hat to decorate the head of a balanced participant in the project. Thus, all participants will be able to open their potential.

The advantage is given to the first method, since it avoids confusion among the participants in the session.

Intelligence card as a supplement to the method of six hats

Working with the method of six hats, it is desirableuse smart card. What it is? This is the representation of any event or idea in a systematized, graphical form. It makes it possible to trace and reveal all the semantic and cause-and-effect relationships between the objects under consideration and the concepts.

Such a card allows you to spread out all the information on the shelves, without wasting time on unnecessary, absolutely unnecessary information, as is often the case with a verbal statement of the essence of the problem.

In fact, the intelligence map is a visual imagework of the human brain. It consists of neurons and their processes, which are connected together by neural processes. Each image and thought stimulates one or another neural segment. Maps are represented as images of complex mental connections that help the brain to regulate phenomena and objects.

The main purpose of creating such maps is to guideorder in the head, structuring, all the information known on this case, information. This will make a complete picture, and look at it from different angles. Intellect cards allow you to better operate data, and contribute to greater freedom of thought.

Method of six hats by Edward de Bono complete withintellect cards, are widely used by entrepreneurs, designers, scientists, teachers, and representatives of other professions. Many successful people in the West admit that they often resort to this method.

Applying the method in the school curriculum

The de Bona method is applied in schools, in particular in Europe, America, some Asian countries since the initial classes.

The method of "6 Hats of Thinking" in the elementary school gives excellent results in the future. This technology is of interest to the teaching staff, thanks to the following results.

1. Children quickly learn to think critically, which helps them become more independent and independent. In the future there will be no insurmountable tasks for them.
2. Information is only a starting point, but not a final one. This is an auxiliary tool on the way to the emergence of a unique solution for both simple and difficult tasks.
3. Thanks to the method, a rather boring trainingthe process turns for the student into a real intellectual activity that gives real results and allows finding alternative solutions to even very unusual questions. Studying data, analyzing information, viewing different points of view, participating in a collective discussion, students learn to find answers to their questions.
4. Students learn to convincingly argue their arguments, using reasonable evidence (information text, personal experience, statistics).

Students apply critical thinking in manytypes of educational activities, including in writing. In this case, the teacher can read the train of thought of the student, his thinking process, and evaluate the correctness of his conclusions.

Children like to work by the method of 6 hats, because it allows not only to find answers to the questions posed, but also to spend interesting time.

Critical thinking is available to students both inhigh school, and in the younger. For young students, it will be easier to master it in some sense. Parallel thinking assumes 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.

Technology of parallel (critical) thinkinghas many ways that are used in the consistent implementation of each stage of the learning process. The method of six hats is one of the most effective ways to learn to think critically.