Substitute one element of that idea for another. (What can we change in how we have fun? And in how we work?) The next time you’re faced with a problem, try this batching technique. You might find yourself coming up with a great solution without frustrations! Narrowing Down The Ideas Exploring your mindBlog about psychology and philosophy. Articles and opinions on happiness, fear and other aspects of human psychology.

Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.Dyson, Scott Benjamin; Chang, Yu-Lin; Chen, Hsueh-Chih; Hsiung, Hsiang-Yu; Tseng, Chien-Chih; Chang, Jen-Ho (March 2016). "The effect of tabletop role-playing games on the creative potential and emotional creativity of Taiwanese college students". Thinking Skills and Creativity. 19: 88–96. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2015.10.004. What is ‘normal’? Who gets to decide? Jenara Nerenberg’s wide-ranging Divergent Mind asks and answers these and other essential questions, offering a vision for how individuals and society can take better advantage of the many ways in which we are human.” — Louise Aronson, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life

JENARA NERENBERG lectures widely on neuroscience, innovation, sensitivity, leadership, and diversity. Selected as a “brave new idea” presenter by the Aspen Institute for her work on re-framing mental differences, Jenara is also the founder and host of The Neurodiversity Project. She holds degrees from the Harvard School of Public Health and UC Berkeley. Her work has been published in Fast Company, New York magazine, Susan Cain’s Quiet Revolution, Garrison Institute, Elaine Aron’s HSP, Healthline, KQED, and elsewhere. In addition to her work as a journalist, Jenara is a frequent workshop facilitator, speaker, and event host for institutions including the Stanford Graduate School of Business and elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area. Klein, Ariel; Badia, Toni (2022-08-18). "Where Divergent Ideas Converge: Answers to AUT Found on Short List of Word Co-Occurrences Terms". Creativity Research Journal: 1–17. doi: 10.1080/10400419.2022.2103314. ISSN 1040-0419. S2CID 251684394. a b c Lieberman, J. Nina (1965-12-01). "Playfulness and Divergent Thinking: An Investigation of their Relationship at the Kindergarten Level". The Journal of Genetic Psychology. 107 (2): 219–224. doi: 10.1080/00221325.1965.10533661. ISSN 0022-1325. PMID 5852592. But let’s approach this same problem with our “convergent thinking cap.” Disney World? Way out of budget, and most of the guests won’t want to travel that far. The new hotel down the street? That’s closer to the budget and guests can easily travel there. A big outdoor party? This is an option too, but only if the cost for lights, heating, and the tents actually did fit in the budget. Would you need a permit to hold the party outside? Would you have to worry about noise complaints?a b c d Vosburg, Suzanne K. (1998-04-01). "The Effects of Positive and Negative Mood on Divergent-Thinking Performance". Creativity Research Journal. 11 (2): 165–172. doi: 10.1207/s15326934crj1102_6. ISSN 1040-0419. Foundations for Divergent Minds (FDM) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization rooted in the principles of disability justice. Founded and led by a team of racially diverse multiply-neurodivergent autistic people of marginalized orientations and gender alignments, our mission is to ensure equity, access, and fulfilled lives through inclusive, practical, affirming neurodiversity based programming and education. FDM utilizes effective, innovative, digital, culturally-responsive methods to serve a broad range of individuals, families, organizations, and providers across the globe. a b c Horne, J. A. (1988). "Sleep Loss and "Divergent Thinking" Ability" (PDF). Sleep. 11 (6): 528–536. doi: 10.1093/sleep/11.6.528. PMID 3238256.

Get your team together and treat your problem like a conflict in a book. Create a "storyboard" that explains what led to the problem and the conflict at hand. (Post-its and erasable markers are great tools for this type of brainstorming!) This method gives your team a new way to look at your problem. SCAMPERBefore continuing, it would be good to clarify one idea. No one kind of thinking is better than another. Convergent thinking is useful and necessary on many occasions. However, the real problem is that we’ve been “trained” to only think this way. We’ve neglected spontaneity, wit, and captivating freedom. Isen, Alice M.; Johnson, Mitzi M.; Mertz, Elizabeth; Robinson, Gregory F. (1985). "The influence of positive affect on the unusualness of word associations". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 48 (6): 1413–1426. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.48.6.1413. PMID 4020605.

FDM focuses on providing resources, education, and support to increase access within communities of all kinds. We believe that every individual deserves access to resources and education—and we strive to ensure that they get it. In 1985, psychologist Edward de Bono wrote "Six Thinking Hats" about a problem-solving exercise that involved roleplay. He described six different "hats" a person could wear as they brainstormed new ideas:When it comes to women, sensory processing differences are often overlooked, masked, or mistaken for something else entirely. Between a flawed system that focuses on diagnosing younger, male populations, and the fact that girls are conditioned from a young age to blend in and conform to gender expectations, women often don’t learn about their neurological differences until they are adults, if at all. As a result, potentially millions live with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed neurodivergences, and the misidentification leads to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and shame. Meanwhile, we all miss out on the gifts their neurodivergent minds have to offer. Mind maps are the best way to put the results of divergent thinking on paper. Mind maps contain ideas that branch off from each other in different directions. There doesn’t have to be a lot of logic used when you are in “divergent thinking” mode. Remember, you are expanding what is possible, not limiting it. Convergent Thinking