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

In a person, everything should be harmonious: the body, the 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 the matter to an 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. The writer and psychologist, an Englishman by birth, Edward de Bono, took up the problem in his time.

The future expert in the field of creative thinking was born in 1933. He studied at Oxford, Trinity College, Cambridge and the University of Dundee. 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 productive ways 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 author's method of the book is the principle of parallel thinking. As you know, this or that proposition arises from disputes and discussions. Such an approach does not guarantee the truthfulness and reliability of the assertion that won the polemics. Usually the winner is the one who more eloquently proves his opinion.

With parallel (critical) thinking, the methods of confrontation are not applied: 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 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 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 is 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 Six Hats of Thinking method overcomes 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 developing 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 necessary to concentrate on all the data that are available: these are facts and numbers. And also you need to think about, perhaps, missing information, and how to fill such gaps.
2. A red hat is a 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, and joy in analyzing this or that decision. There is no need to fear negative emotions, as they, along with positive ones, play their role in making the right decision.
3. The next hat is responsible for optimism. The yellow hat implies only a positive attitude. 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, we need to think about the hidden threats that lurk 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. A green hat means a flight of fantasy and creativity. The green hat encourages the search for new, non-standard solutions. Bold ideas, improvement of existing developments, peeping techniques from opponents, brainstorming - all this takes place in the "green hat" mode.
6. A blue hat is a hat to think through the realization of the chosen idea, to embody it in reality. Do not think more of the advantages and disadvantages, only to implement a deliberate decision.

Who is this method for?

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

In the 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 people seems a very boring occupation. But this system is able to lure and make this process a kind of experiment, at the end of which problems, 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 the false statements that were previously taken seriously.
4. It is possible to smooth out the dispute with the opponent, showing with the help of the method, the incorrectness of his 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 people to manifest 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 entire process, excluding empty chatter, thinking becomes objective, logical and concentrated.
7. Due to the fact that the 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 innovations.
12. To inspire the team to master the method of six hats, it will take 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 disadvantage, although probably not even a minus, but the complexity is the very technology of six hats. That is, in order to master this technique and use it to learn to use 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 the immediate supervisor, initiate this method in 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 management of the need for this method, there is also a moment of seriousness of its perception directly by the team. Someone may find it "childish" and refuses 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 it is again 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 Bono gives recommendations on the implementation of the system in reality. When using the method collectively, it is necessary to have a moderator who will manage the whole 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 moderator briefly introduces all the participants to the task of each of the hats, then the problem is raised, for the solution of which everything has 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 hat concept.
• It is not necessary to follow a clear sequence of hats, but a certain sequence is necessary.
• You can use this order: the white hat collects all the data on the subject of discussion (numbers, statistics, conditions).
• 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 for a 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 hat, and not be confused in the judgments.

You can work and another scheme. Let each of the participants wear hats of different colors, while it is important that the color is contrary to the personal qualities of the person. For example, a pessimist puts on a black hat, and vice versa, a silent person trying on a green, red hat will 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 six-hat method, it is advisable to use an intelligent 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 representation of the work 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 presented as images of complex mental connections that help the brain to regulate phenomena and objects.

The main goal of creating such cards is to put things in order in the head, structuring, all the information known about 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.

The method of six hats by Edward de Bono, complete with intelligence cards, is 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 interests 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 insoluble problems 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 educational process turns for the student into a true intellectual activity that gives real results and allows finding alternative solutions to even very unusual questions. By 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 reason convincingly their arguments, using reasonable evidence (information text, personal experience, statistics).

Students apply critical thinking in many types of educational activities, including 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 an interesting time.

Critical thinking is available to students in both high school and junior. 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.

The technology of parallel (critical) thinking has 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.