Convergent and Divergent Thinking Influence

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Life is coming toward us at such a rate that every second displays a new scene of potentially new challenges. Therefore, we must expand our thinking abilities in order to survive. Technology is also growing rapidly, thus we are continually influenced and pushed to find new alternative options. Thinking is a process of response, and if it is productive, it results in changing our world views and knowledge. It is an independent action that happens continually whether we choose it or not. Buddha argued that, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” As a result, we affect the world with the way we think about it. Our brains are regularly dealing with thoughts which are reflected in our facial expression, speech, and attitude. There are two ways in which we think, convergent and divergent, which were introduced first by Joy Paul Guilford in 1967. When multiple options are offered, the best one is chosen and that is convergent thinking. However, divergent thinking offers just one option with a variety of outcomes. While convergent thinking is essential in academic achievement, divergent thinking is essential to succeed in today’s world.

Convergent thinking has the ability to reduce a large set of ideas to a few and provide just one right answer. It is characterized with a strong emphasis on speed, accuracy, and logic. Those thinkers have clear goals where the path to a solution and obstacles are based on the facts given. As White points out, “It is the correct answer, the known answer, the general response extended in intelligence and academic tests” (7). Accordingly, convergent thinkers gather all relevant information and, in the end, come up with the best pos...

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