Thinking- This is the object of attention of all psychologists who study intelligence, there is Guilford's theory, which describes in detail convergent and divergent thinking.

The essence of thinking

During the study of the world around them, people summarize their acquired experience, determining the relationship between objects, thereby establishing general property of things. Thus, a person solves specific cognitive problems. However, we are not able to answer all questions; it is in such situations that we have to turn to thinking. It allows people to navigate in any situation. Knowledge of the connections and laws of objective reality makes it possible to determine rational human activity. Divergent and convergent thinking- this is a search for the desire to comprehend all kinds of answers, it activates various types of mental activity, for example, curiosity and memory, attention and observation, judgment and imagination.

The essence of intelligence

When we characterize a person from the point of view of psychology, we use the well-known word “intelligence”. Until now, scientists around the world cannot give specific definition, this concept. But many experts argue that intelligence is an ability that is inherent in every person to understand the world as a whole.

Convergent thinking

First, let's give a definition: convergent thinking is the ability of the intellect to adapt to the given conditions of a particular activity. Convergent thinking is defined by three properties:

Combinatoriality– the ability to combine elementary tasks with existing knowledge, identifying relationships, patterns and various relationships.
Leveling– concentration, speed of perception, sensory discrimination, lexicon etc.
Processuality– strategy for transforming acquired information, methods of intellectual activity.

These properties characterize convergent thinking in full.

Divergent thinking

Let's give a definition, divergent thinking- this is creativity, the ability to put forward the most unusual and interesting ideas in operating conditions, with the exception of regulations. , It has distinctive feature, namely the willingness to voice a large number of ideas that are equivalent in correctness when applied to each other or to one object. In other words, creativity is the ability to not follow stereotypes. Divergent thinking is presented in several criteria:

Fluency– the number of ideas that are born in a specific time period.
Originality– the ability to move away from templates and stereotypes, expressing ideas that are distinctive from the typical ones.
Sensitivity- this is the ability to perceive unusual life situations in all details, to see contradictions or uncertainty, as well as the ability to quickly switch from one idea to the next.
Imagery– preference to express one’s thoughts using symbols and associations, to work in an imagined context, the ability to find what is complex at first glance in absolutely simple things.

A striking example of divergent thinking can serve smart cards and brainstorming. A convergent thinking(logical or linear), is the basis of tests and classical teaching methods. Convergent and divergent thinking is necessary and can be developed; if you understand its peculiarities, you can achieve amazing results.

The concept of divergent thinking serves as an explanation of the creativity of thinking within a certain direction - the direction of J. Guilford. However, creativity creative thinking) is studied from the perspective of other explanatory schemes, therefore creative thinking and divergent thinking are not identical concepts, which Dorfman also notes. As examples, he cites the understanding of creativity as a discretionary by-product of activity by Ya. A. Ponomarev, as intellectual activity and creativity Bogoyavlenskaya D.B., investment Sternberg R., Grigorenko E.E., etc.

We think it is especially important in the analysis of divergent thinking to have a clear connection between divergence and the mechanism of associations. The associative theory of creative thinking makes this connection explicit. In others, work, on the contrary, associations and divergence are interpreted as two sides of the theory of creative thinking.

At the core associative theory creativity lies in the idea that associations are the basis of creative thinking. Creative thinking arises, in part, from new combinations of associations between ideas. The more distant the ideas between which associations arise, the more creative thinking is considered - provided that these associations meet the requirements of the task and are characterized by usefulness. Mednick distinguished three ways creative solutions, based on associations: through serendipity, finding similarities between distant elements (ideas), mediating some ideas with other ideas. Martindale argues that all creative products arise from the recombination of known ideas through new associations. Based on analogy (similarity), creative thinking is able to establish associations between previously unrelated ideas. This feature of creative thinking is central and covers the specifics of individual areas creative activity(for an opposite view of the areas of creative activity that give creativity specificity, see: Sternberg,.

According to Eysenck, creativity is a non-random process of search and combination aimed at creative problem solving. A central feature of creativity is “overinclusiveness.” Cognitive overengagement is the ability to produce a lot creative ideas through the production of a number of associations - as wide as the associations are relevant to the problem. Eysenck argued that cognitive hyperinvolvement is genetically determined, associated with psychoticism and creates a predisposition to creative behavior in people (compare with Druzhinin's data). The presence of unusual associations characterizes creative thinking. Thus, there is a connection between the ability to generate associations, divergent thinking and creativity.

The issue of the relationship between divergent and associative creative thinking is a definite problem. Since the coexistence of several ideas can serve as the basis for both their divergence and their associations. But the coexistence of several divergent ideas, leading to a decrease in their coherence (divergence), and the coexistence of several ideas, leading to an increase in their coherence (association) are formally mutually exclusive. But, if we take into account that when a bifurcation occurs at the crossroads of “evolutionary channels”, several new and various options development. Moreover, there are as many of these options as there are new “channels” entering the “crossroads”. It seems to us that this “crossroads” is an analogy of associations. Thus, the association is contained in the very genesis of divergent thought.

According to Dorfman, associations and divergence can be considered as phenomena that manifest themselves in different layers of thinking. Divergent ideas are found in the superficial layers of thinking, and unusual associations, on the contrary, arise in the deeper layers of thinking. They may represent fragments of deep associations. The latter assumes that divergence and associations do not exclude, but, on the contrary, complement each other and are interconnected.

In general, Dorfman correctly writes that divergent thinking is not synonymous with creative thinking. Firstly, creative thinking can be studied from other angles, and secondly, divergent thinking in itself is not always creative. Divergent thinking may consist of a number of ideas, but each (or most) of them may be trivial.

In this paragraph, we presented the ideas of foreign colleagues about the associative nature of divergent thinking as impartial experts in our interpretation of Guilford’s theory.

Completing my school education, our children go through the Unified State Examination system, which is aimed primarily at assessing the ability to mechanically reproduce learned material. Facts, dates, names, formulas - all this, without a doubt, should be learned by every educated person and become his intellectual baggage for life. However, will our children be able to use this luggage, turn it from a simple set of parts into an effective tool that allows them to navigate a rapidly changing world, evaluate many variables and, as a result, make the right decisions based on a choice from several alternative options?

This depends on their ability to use different types of thinking.

Two Kinds of Thinking

More than forty years ago, the American psychologist J. Gilford described two various types thinking that a person uses: convergent And divergent. Convergent he proposed to name the thinking with the help of which we find the only correct answer to the question posed.

In other words, convergent thinking allows us to answer the simplest, most basic questions: what? Who? Where? When? In what order? If necessary, these questions are expanded into more complex designs, For example, culinary recipes, job descriptions and instructions for using the equipment...

This type of thinking is indispensable in Everyday life, it allows us to navigate and act in a homogeneous environment, in conditions of repeating phenomena and in predictable, previously described situations. On this basis, clear and low-change algorithms are formed, giving us the opportunity to make the right decisions in a familiar environment.

It is these skills that are developed and reinforced at school and assessed using the Unified State Examination system.

Unlike convergent thinking divergent is focused on working in a complex environment, which presupposes the presence of not a single working algorithm of actions, but a certain set of alternative options from which it is necessary to choose the optimal one.

It should immediately be emphasized that the need for the ability to effectively use skills divergent thinking is especially in demand today, in conditions of rapid growth of information flows and constant changes in technology. All this urgently requires each person to be able to quickly adapt, search and find non-trivial solutions, and master unfamiliar work and communication skills.

The main issues it deals with divergent thinking- How is that? How? Why is this so? Why this way and not otherwise? Is there any other way? What happens if?

Note that it is impossible to effectively deal with such issues without basic knowledge, without the baggage that is collected with the help of convergent thinking. Divergent thinking gives us the opportunity to turn this baggage into useful working tools suitable for use in a wide variety of situations, even completely unfamiliar to us. Moreover, in those that are not described in the instructions, and these are the majority in our lives!

How to master divergent thinking techniques?

It should be noted right away that skills training divergent thinking requires special techniques different from those used in preparation for the Unified State Exam. Simple, linear assimilation of knowledge is not enough for this. You need to learn to combine this knowledge like parts of a construction set.

Divergent thinking skills will allow you:

- operate with information in situations of uncertainty,
- generate different approaches to the task at hand,
- understand that the same problem can be solved different ways,
- be able to distinguish tasks with only one the right decision from tasks that allow choice optimal solution from several equally correct ones,
- formulate performance evaluation criteria various solutions,
- optimize your actions in accordance with the requirements of the situation
and much, much more.

Psychologists have found that very similar techniques can be used to develop divergent thinking skills in adults and children. For example, at any age you can successfully do various exercises.

Here are a number of such exercises that are accessible to anyone:

"In someone else's shoes"

Try to look at this or that life situation or a problem from the outside, through the eyes of another person. Imagine how he would evaluate them, how he would act. At the same time, strive to understand the difference between your assessments and actions and the assessments and actions of another person.

You can learn to “put on someone else’s shoes” through the process of communication. When talking with people, try to understand the logic of their reasoning, the reasons for the judgments they express. Explore alternative points of view!

"Professional photographer"

What is the difference between an amateur photographer and a professional photographer? The amateur looks for an interesting shot, captures it and moves on to the next one. A professional, having found the frame he needs, will “process” it several times, changing the angle, setting, filters, distance, etc. And then, in calm atmosphere, will choose from the many photographs taken the one that satisfies him to the greatest extent.

Try this logic. When solving a certain problem, do not stop at the first solution, no matter how sound it may seem. Put it aside and try a few more options: it is quite possible that there is something better. If none of them will better than the first, this will only strengthen you in your original choice.

"Copyist"

Try to rewrite the text you just read, trying to preserve the information and logic contained in it, so that it looks like new.

With great disappointment, psychologists unanimously note that the tasks that modern traditional education offers to schoolchildren, in 70% of cases, require only an almost mechanical reproduction of memorized material. At the same time, psychologists do not at all question the unconditional usefulness of mastering knowledge that has been tested by time and accumulated by the experience of all mankind.

The disappointment is caused by the fact that in this way schoolchildren develop only one type of thinking, while in order to accept independent decision two are required. What kinds of thinking are we talking about here?

About forty years ago, a psychologist J. Guilford proposed to distinguish between convergent and divergent thinking e. He called convergent thinking, with the help of which a person must find the only correct answer to a question posed.

This kind of thinking is required, for example, if one asks:

• What time is it now?
• How many days, weeks and months are there in a year?
• What is the capital of this or that state?
• What is written in the job description?
• How to drive a car?
• What is your age?
• What is the name of your place of work?

Convergent thinking operates:

• historical dates;
• mathematical formulas;
• culinary recipes;
• safety instructions;

and helps us navigate a homogeneous, repetitive and predictable life and professional situation.

Convergent thinking develops through the ability to thoroughly examine the facts that are revealed to us. In order to use your convergent thinking, it is enough to learn to consistently ask questions like:

• When?
• Why?

For example, to develop convergent thinking in children, they are asked to answer these questions after reading a book or watching a movie. It is easy to see that convergent thinking is aimed at reproducing acquired knowledge, and it is the more successful, the more accurately this knowledge is learned.

Divergent thinking allows you to select several relatively equally correct answers to one question. Today's diverse and highly turbulent environment requires a person to be increasingly willing to turn to divergent thinking.

Here is just the most modest list of situations where decision-making based on convergent thinking is obviously not effective:

• finding ways to reduce costs,
• choosing a place and method of relaxation,
• career planning,
• child education,
• relations with superiors,
• writing an article,
• problem statement,
• personality characteristics,
• use of multifunctional items.

Only divergent thinking can be a reliable assistant here.

Techniques for developing a divergent mind

So, it is clear that the peculiarities of the development of divergent thinking do not allow us to hope that it will develop simultaneously with the assimilation of knowledge.

These features include:

• the ability to operate acquired knowledge in situations of uncertainty,
• skills in generating different approaches to a given task,
• understanding that the same problem can be solved in different ways,
• the ability to distinguish between problems with only one correct solution and problems that allow the choice of an optimal solution from several equally correct ones.

The development of divergent thinking in adults and children, in principle, involves the same techniques and techniques. For example, both adults and children will benefit from the following exercises.

With Vikium you can develop divergent thinking online

"In someone else's shoes." When solving a problem, try to look at it through the eyes of other people and imagine how those others would solve it. It is important not just to be in a different role, but to understand the difference between your view and the view of the one whose role you are currently playing. Let it be a variety of personalities and persons - the heroes of your favorite books and films, your relatives and friends, colleagues and rivals. When talking with those who are very different from you, try to track the logic of his reasoning, to understand why exactly he thinks this way. In short, learn to look at the situation from the perspective different points vision and think like another person.

"Professional photographer". If you watch how a tourist and a professional photographer take photographs, you will certainly notice their different attitudes towards the first frame. The tourist will choose an angle that seems interesting to him, click the camera shutter and switch to searching for a new subject. A professional photographer, even having found a good angle, will not be satisfied with the first photo. He will definitely change something in the setting of the shot and repeat it, then change something again and repeat it again. And so on until he is completely satisfied with the achieved result.

Try yourself in the role of a professional photographer. Go to a photo shoot and take each shot only after changing the angle several times. Try to guess what kind of frame a tourist would take if he found himself in this place, and - give up these angles. Look for something unexpected, fundamentally different from the “tourist” look.

Use the “professional photographer” technique when solving any problem. Don't let yourself settle for the first answer that comes to your mind. Keep 'searching' best shot", tell yourself: "This is probably not the most The best decision. Perhaps it’s worth continuing the search.”

"Organization of Information". Since the development of divergent thinking is based on the involvement of a wide variety of information, it makes sense to organize these information flows in a certain way.

They will very well help you quickly find necessary information techniques such as:

• clustering,
• typology,
• classification,
• construction of matrices,
• development of cognitive schemes,
• creating various tables.

For example, if you look at the tools that are used when developing an organization's development strategy or marketing strategy, you will be surprised by their variety:

• Ishikawa fish,
• Goal tree
• Task tree,
• “5 P – 5 Why” approach
• BCG matrix,
• "Porter's Five Forces"
• Risk calculation table,
• Decomposition of goals

and many more.

Practice divergent thinking

Divergent thinking is developed, among other things, by regular practice of addressing it.. For effective mental work, it is important to understand and accept the psychological fact that an idea and a judgment are of a different nature. An idea initially begins as a weak and fragile assumption, which, at the very beginning of its appearance, can be easily destroyed in the bud with the help of categorical judgment.

This is why it is important to separate the generation of ideas (the work of our divergent thinking) from the judgment of their viability (the work of convergent thinking). It was precisely this consideration that guided the American engineer Alan Osborne when he proposed using his famous technique to solve extraordinary problems. brainstorming».

Imagine that you simultaneously open a tap with hot water and faucet with warm water. You know what you will get in this case warm water, and not at all two streams flowing from the tap simultaneously - hot and cold. In the same way, instead of two streams of hot ideas and cold, sober criticism, you get a stream of lukewarm ideas and slightly cool criticism.

During the idea generation stage, try not to move on to evaluating them until you admit that you have exhausted all your mental capacity in the search process. The likelihood of the desired solution appearing increases with the number of proposed solutions. In other words, the more solutions we can come up with, the better. Our brain is terribly lazy by nature, so it happily grabs the first alternative as the best. Don't let your brain fool you like that.

Searching and generating solutions only appears to be creative work And interesting activity. In reality, this is hard work, where suitable option appears only after at least two dozen ideas have been proposed. Brainstormers are even more categorical, they believe that the first ten ideas, as a rule, do not carry any useful potential.

IN real life, convergent and divergent thinking, as a rule, are inextricably linked with each other.

So, to make a decision you will need to take three main steps:

• Step 1– equip yourself with the knowledge necessary to solve the problem;
• Step 2– generate several solutions, then compare them and select the optimal one for a given situation;
• Step 3– pick up the right ways implementation of the chosen solution.

It is easy to see that the first step involves mainly the work of memory aimed at reproducing the necessary knowledge, the second involves divergent thinking, and the third is based on the process of convergent thinking.

Solve problems using brainstorming. This is a way of layering ideas. One idea begets another, which begets another idea, until the list of random ideas becomes creative and disorganized. If you practice this method in a group of people, allow everyone to speak freely. Don't look practical solution. Instead, start collecting ideas that are even remotely relevant to the problem.

• All ideas are written down and not criticized.
• Once your list of ideas has been compiled, you can go back and reconsider their value.

Keep a diary. By using a journal, you can immediately record spontaneous ideas that usually come to mind in unusual places and at unusual times. Such ideas can be written down by one of the participants in the collective brainstorming session. Later, your diary or journal can become a collection of ideas that can be further organized and developed.

Free writing. Focus on one specific topic and write about it for a short period of time. Write down everything that comes to your mind as it relates to this topic. Don't pay attention to spelling and punctuation. Just write. Later, you can organize, correct, and revise your text. The challenge is to take a specific topic and develop several different thoughts in a short period of time.

Create a visual representation of the topic or a connection diagram. Present your brainstorming ideas in the form of a visual map or drawing. Be sure to include connections between ideas. For example, you can choose the topic “How to start your own business.”

• Write “How to Start a Business” in the center of a piece of paper and circle it.
• Let's say that you have decided on four categories, which include: goods/services, financing, market and employees.
• So, you need to draw four lines for each category from the circle with main theme. Now your diagram will look like a child's drawing of the sun.
• At the ends of each of the four lines, draw a circle and write in all four categories (products/services, financing, market and employees).
• Let's assume that you divided each category into two more sub-items. For example, the “goods/services” category would include “clothing” and “shoes,” while the “financing” category would consist of “loans” and “savings.”
• Now draw two lines from each category circle to create small suns with two rays.
• At the ends of each of the lines (or "rays"), draw a smaller circle and write your sub-points within them. For example, for the category “goods/services”, enter “clothing” in the circle of the first sub-item and “shoes” in the circle of the second. For the “financing” category, enter “loan” in the circle of the first subparagraph and “savings” in the circle of the second.
• Once completed, such a map can be used to further development Topics. This pattern combines divergent and convergent thinking.