Strategies for Developing Divergent Thinking

Divergent thinking is a method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. In most cases, divergent thinking occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner, such that the ideas are generated in a random, unorganized fashion. Divergent thinking is a capability that has significant potential in today’s workplace and educational environments. Some experts have noted that with the predicted decline in traditional jobs in the next decade, the ones that will remain are those that require creative intelligence

While divergent thinking is often thought of as being synonymous with creative thinking, it is only one (albeit important) part of the creative process. Through this process, a wider range of original concepts can be developed with unexpected
connections, thus enabling a more novel approach to problem-solving (Grant, 2016). It has been associated with problem-solving, ideation, and creative potential. It is also an important precursor to pathways thinking that signifies a sense of hope for individuals.

While some studies have demonstrated that certain personality traits are related to divergent thinking abilities, e.g., openness to experience (McCrae, 1987), divergent thinking training is an effective method of enhancing creative production. Vartanian, Martindale, and Matthews (2009) proposed that creative people are likely to be faster at judging the relatedness of concepts, as this enables judgments about promising ideas and ideational pathways. They confirmed that people who demonstrate
higher divergent thinking abilities were faster in their judgments of relatedness.

In this exercise, you will practice divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is a method used to generate creative
ideas by exploring many possible solutions in a short time.

Step 1:

Give yourself 5 minutes to come up with as many uses for a paperclip as you can. Try to use the full 5 minutes. (100 to 1,200 characters) *

Step 2: Evaluation

What strategies did you use to come up with ideas? (100 to 1,200 characters) *

Did you make use additional strategies to enhance the paper clip e.g., changing the properties or size etc? (20 to 1,200 characters) *

Step 4: Generate ideas again

Use these expanded strategies to come up with as many uses for a brick as you can. ( 5 minutes) (20 to 1,200 characters) *

Step 5: Reflections

Explore the strategies used to manage interference and broaden idea generation and thus support the development of a broader range of strategies to enhance divergent thinking in the future:

What strategies first came to mind in the original version of the task (paperclip)?
How did you manage the discomfort when the ideas seemed to ‘dry up’?
Did the reflection on strategies to manage interference enable a greater variety of approaches in the second task (brick)?
Did you experience a lull in the second version of the task? If so, did you feel less discomfort, or did you notice a different approach to managing this?
Will working in a group enable you to broaden your use of strategies?
What are the potential benefits and pitfalls of using collaboration for idea generation?
How might you use collaboration to support your divergent thinking for a problem you are currently trying to solve?

Summarise accordingly (50 to 1,200 characters) *