Divergent and convergent thinking: definition, features, recommendations of psychologists

Everyone solves problems in his own way. One in search of answers will begin to study the textbook, the other will look for the answer in her own head, and she will offer several options. Most likely, both will find a way out. But the first one will do it by all the rules, the second - using imagination. The whole difference is in the way of thinking. In this case, we have people with pronounced types of convergent and divergent thinking.

The psychologist from the USA, Joy Guildford, introduced the concepts of convergent and divergent thinking. In the 60s of the last century, he distinguished two of these types. According to his definition, convergent thinking is aimed at finding the only right solution. The divergent feature is that its owner approaches the solution of the problem in a non-standard way; otherwise it is called creatively.

The term comes from the Latin divergere, which means "deviate" or "diverge." A person with a divergent way of thinking is looking for several answers to the same question at once. He approaches the solution of the problem in a comprehensive manner, often based on his own feelings. It has the following characteristics:

• speed of perception - a person gives out a lot of ideas in a short time;
• ability to think in images;
• diversity, the ability not to focus on one option, change your point of view;
• observation - he notices what others lose sight of or do not attach importance to;
• non-standard, ability to give out original ideas.

Most often, this kind of thinking is possessed by creative people. At school, as a rule, they are not considered outstanding students. It is difficult for them to stay within the framework of the overall program. Studying the multiplication table is much more difficult for them than writing an essay on any topic.

These people are inventive both in professional activities and in their personal lives. A vivid example is the great theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. As a child, he did not demonstrate outstanding mental abilities. Educators didn't really appreciate him. However, this did not prevent him, having matured, from becoming one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century.

Perhaps the most accurate definition of him and other people with pronounced divergent thinking was given by contemporaries of the Nobel laureate. They said that talking with him was the same as being in the fourth dimension. Such as Einstein, units, they make up a special, unlike any other part of society. But it is thanks to them that the greatest discoveries are made.

The term also came to us from the Latin language, where convergere means "converge to one center." This kind of thinking can be compared with the school curriculum, where the “mass” approach is most often used. He learned the theorem - five in a journal with a red pen, he doubted the need to study chemistry - an outcast, a lazy dog, a loser.

However, not always a person with encyclopedic knowledge is able to understand life as well as the laws of geometry. Its lines never intersect. He does not give himself the right to doubt. Together with a gold medal, he does not receive a precious cell at all, which does not allow him to go beyond the framework imposed by the educational system. In his life, everything is laid out on shelves, and if this very shelf breaks, then he turns out to be helpless.

If a person has at least some degree of both types of thinking, he is a potential genius.. However, these are rare. Determining which type is inherent in a particular person is quite simple. The most common way is to offer a list of certain items, for example, “a bucket, bed, table, bedside table” and ask the subject to tell how to use them. If he has a bucket exclusively for garbage, a bed for sleeping, a table for eating, a bedside table for storing jewelry, we have a bright owner of convergent thinking.

If, when answering this question, mediation is used, that is, a bucket may well become a musical instrument, a bed - a screen for a home puppet theater, a table - a canvas for a picture, and a bedside table - a chair, then divergence is applied.

You can develop it with the help of various exercises. Moreover, they are applicable to both preschoolers and adults. Begin with family or lunch breaks with colleagues. Do it regularly. Turn these activities into a game.

Be sure to determine the winner. Set a prize pool. Do everything in order to interest your loved ones or subordinates in this. Among other things, this will help relieve stress.

• Write as many words as possible starting with the letter U. Then ending in G. Next, those, the third letter in which J. Allocate a certain amount of time to compile each list. For example, 3 or 5 minutes. Repeat this game regularly, changing the letters, enter new conditions. Write not all words, but only nouns, then adjectives.
• Take any item. The task is to come up with as many ways of using it as possible. A pencil, for example, can not only write, it can very well become a perch for a bird in a cage, an index stick, a measure of length, and so on. Change objects, try to create "designs" from two or three different things.
• Come up with different solutions to everyday problems. Light bulb burned out. How to set up lighting? What are 10 ways to do this? Going to the store for a new one, using the phone's backlight, lighting a fireplace, and so on. Do not stop until you come up with exactly 10 answers.
• Write a sentence in which all words will begin with a specific letter. Next time complicate the task - set a certain number of words.

While the child has not yet learned to write and read, To develop divergent thinking, you can use various pictures and objects.

• Collect 5 different toys. The task of the child is to come up with a story whose heroes they will become.
• Put a few items on the table - one of them in this game is "main". Identify it and invite the child to guess with leading questions. Is he blue? Is it round? Is he heavy? And so on.
• Dance competition. Turn on the music and invite the child to show various conditions with the help of movements and facial expressions: joy, anger, sadness, fun.
• Give your child a piece of paper with a piece of some image. The task is to finish the picture.
• Similar can be done by application. Make only its central part. Offer the child to complete. For example, create your own seven-flower. Put the stem on paper. The task of the baby is to attach leaflets and petals to it.
• Lay out the maximum number of different objects on the floor. The task of the child is to separate them according to a certain attribute (color, size, material).
• Invite a child to describe a specific subject. Tell him what he likes, what not. Why is this doll a favorite, and he never uses a green pencil?

If at least sometimes it seems to you that you are at a dead end and with all your education you cannot find the optimal solution to some problem, try using the following methods.

• Look for several answers to any question. Often the truth lies on the surface, and we dig too deep to find it.
• Imagine how the situation will develop if you go in different ways. Go through all the possible options in your head. Do not dwell on one thing, even if it seems to be the only true one.
• For a while, forget what you were taught at school. Try to solve the problem logically, without applying generally accepted norms and rules. Imagine how the majority thinks and derive the minority formula. It is likely that it will be optimal for a specific task.
• Do not separate theory from practice. Always consider how your plan will be realized.
• Do not stop there. Even if you find a seemingly absolutely correct solution, sort through the other options.
• Use the help of colleagues and friends. Have a brainstorming session. Perhaps one of your children will tell you a brilliant idea.
• Keep a notebook on hand and write down all your wildest and most unexpected ideas there. If not now, then they may well come in handy.
• Write on a piece of paper all your thoughts on an exciting issue. After a while, re-read. Surely, among the many words, one will find that will indicate the desired direction.

But do not rush from one extreme to another. Yesterday's physicist today will not become a lyric poet, and vice versa. Remember - both convergent and divergent thinking are important in everyday life. Therefore, it is necessary to develop both.Divergent thinking consists of disparate, often spontaneous ideas. It can not be measured on a standard five-point scale, unlike convergent.

And in human psychology lies the desire for a specific result. Therefore, when drawing up a work plan, think of how this or that achievement will be encouraged. It is impossible to objectively evaluate the picture of a three-year-old baby and give a clear description of the gifted child. But you can be interested in his work, the invention of something new.

Surround your child with constructors, puzzles, and toys. Do not scold if, instead of a hand, the baby gives the doll a leg or draws a green sun. Do not bother him to experiment. But do not forget to give practical skills. Even if a girl dances, like Anna Pavlova, it will not hurt her to know that twice two is four. If a boy draws well, it’s still important for him to understand that “rolls do not grow on a tree”.

If a child refuses to learn to count, turn this process into a game. Do not forget to encourage his success. Offer the child to choose the "prize" from several options: a trip to the zoo, ice cream, watching a cartoon. More often offer him a choice in everything. Let him think in different directions, and then his life, like yours, will become diverse. In the future, such a child will have no difficulty finding a way out of any unusual or non-standard situation, and a difficult question will never perplex.