Lateral Thinking

Box 7.2. Edward de Bono used the term 'lateral thinking' for essentially what Guilford called divergent thinking, distinguishing it from vertical thinking. Vertical thinking involves mental operations moving back and forth in a straight line between lower- and higher-level concepts (de Bono described it as 'digging the same hole deeper'), whereas lateral thinking looks for alternative ways of defining and interpreting a problem altogether ('digging a hole in a different place'). De Bono suggested lateral thinking helps make mental leaps and creates a number of ways of thinking about a problem.

He also developed the 'Six Thinking Hats' technique to stimulate different modes of thinking, worn or removed as needed: the white hat stands for gathering information, facts and figures, and filling gaps; the red hat for expressing feelings and emotions on the subject; the black hat for judgment, caution and logic; the yellow hat for thinking about what will work and why it would be beneficial; the green hat for creativity, alternatives and change; and the blue hat for thinking about the process itself, rather than the ideas. The six hats reflect different perspectives on an issue and can be used individually or in groups. …