Making the Team: A Guide for Managers

Divergent versus Convergent Thinking

There are two key skills involved in creative thinking: Divergent thinking and convergent thinking (Guilford, 1959, 1967). Convergent thinking is thinking that proceeds toward a single answer, such as the expected value of a 70% chance of earning $1,000 is obtained by multiplying $1,000 by .7 to reach $700. Divergent thinking moves outward from the problem in many possible directions and involves thinking without boundaries. It is related to the notion of flexibility of categories and originality of thought. Divergent thinking is out-of-the-box thinking.

Many of the factors that make up creative problem solving seem most closely related to divergent thinking. However, ideas eventually need to be evaluated ...