India's Vision - Education to All
| The Six Thinking Hats technique is designed by Edward de Bono to help individuals deliberately explore a variety of perspectives on a subject that may be very different from the one that they might most naturally assume. Each of the Hats is named for a color that is descriptive of the perspective one adopts when wearing the particular hat. In wearing a particular thinking hat, people play roles, or "as if" themselves into a particular perspective. Seeing things in various ways is helpful in strategy formation or complex decision-making processes. |
| The Six Hats |
| 1. White (Observer) White paper; Neutral; focus on information available, objective FACTS, what is needed, how it can be obtained |
| 2. Red (Self, Other) Fire, warmth; EMOTIONS, FEELINGS, intuition, hunches; present views without explanation, justification |
| 3. Black (Self, Other) Stern judge wearing black robe; judgmental; critical; why something is wrong; LOGICAL NEGATIVE view. |
| 4. Yellow (Self, Other) Sunshine; optimism; LOGICAL POSITIVE view; looks for benefits, what's good. |
| 5. Green (Self, Other) Vegetation; CREATIVE thinking; possibilities and hypotheses; new ideas |
| 6. Blue (Observer) Sky; cool; overview; CONTROL of PROCESS, STEPS, OTHER HATS; chairperson, organizer; thinking about thinking |
| These hats are indicative of both emotional states as well as frames of mind (i.e., perspective from which an issue is viewed). Edward de Bono has explained the idea behind this method: "Emotions are an essential part of our thinking ability and not just something extra that mucks up our thinking" . One thinking style (or hat) is not inherently "better" than another. A full, balanced team recognizes the need for all hats in order for the team to consider all aspects of whatever issues they are facing. |
| In most group contexts, individuals tend to feel constrained to consistently adopt a specific perspective (optimistic, pessimistic, objective, etc.). This limits the ways and extent to which each individual and thus the group as a whole can explore an issue. With the Six Thinking Hats, one is no longer limited to a single perspective in one's thinking. The hats are categories of thinking behavior and not of people themselves. The purpose of the hats is to direct thinking, not classify either the thinking or the thinker. Indeed, by wearing a hat that is different from the one that one customarily wears, one may chance upon a variety of new ideas. Wearing a hat means deliberately adopting a perspective that is not necessarily one's own. It is important that all group members are aware of this fact. A group member must clearly identify the color of the hat he is wearing while making a statement. Wearing a clearly identified hat separates ego from performance. The Six Hat Method is useful even for individuals thinking by themselves. |
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Benefits of Six Thinking Hats Method |
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Main benefits of Six Thinking Hats method
- Allow to say things without risk.
- Create awareness that there are multiple perspectives on the issue at hand
- Convenient mechanism for 'switching gears'
- Rules for the game of thinking
- Focus thinking
- Lead to more creative thinking
- Improve communication
- Improve decision making
