Using the "Six Thinking Hats" to Enhance Your Academic Performance
White Hat (factual/objective)
If the White Hat is a strong preference for you (rank 1 or 2)
Your strengths involve a close and careful attention to details, facts, and specifics. But if you overdo these strengths, you can easily become so focused on the details that you "miss the forest for the trees". Often this means a tendency to:
Be overly deliberate in taking exams. You may run out of time because you feel it necessary to read everything too carefully (absorbing and digesting every detail) or because you feel compelled to "check and recheck your work" excessively. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, practice trusting your "gut" or your instincts -- strengthening your Green Hat.)
Rely excessively on rote memory in studying. In courses that emphasize conceptual understanding, this may be a very ineffective way of studying; you may find that you study very hard and yet gain little for your efforts. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, learn study techniques that enhance your "active rehearsal" of information, such as generating original examples of concepts and theories.)
Focus on form rather than content, obsessing about external aspects of assignments (length, word count, appearance) rather than the underlying meaning of what you present to the instructor. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, practice presenting ideas in your own words and building a logical case for your point of view -- strengthening your Black Hat.)
If the White Hat is a weak preference for you (rank 5 or 6)
You may be insufficiently attentive to facts, and may struggle with strongly detail-oriented courses that require accuracy, precision, attention to specifics, observational skill, and rote memory. Learn to strengthen your White Hat skills through targeted practice, and don't think that you can get by with "making up facts as you need them" in courses of this type.
Red Hat (emotional/subjective)
If the Red Hat is a strong preference for you (rank 1 or 2)
Your strengths involve a high level of awareness of emotions -- your own as well as others -- as well as, in all probability, a high degree of sensitivity, empathy, and social-emotional skill. But if you overdo these strengths, you can easily become overly subjective. Often this means a tendency to:
Take things too personally, including rejection. Learn to put negative feedback, as well as failure experiences, in perspective. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, learn to put negative feedback, as well as personal experiences with failure, in perspective. The fact that others don't always respond positively to you, or that you don't always succeed at everything, doesn't mean that you are a worthless person.)
Find it difficult to see the dark side of things you value, which can make for lopsided (unduly subjective) decision making, as well as difficulties in courses that require you to "see both sides" of a situation. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, practice wearing the Black Hat and identifying flaws with cherished ideas, by arguing against a point of view that is important to you.)
Confuse enthusiasm with understanding, or rely on a personal connection with others (such as admiration or respect for an instructor) rather than the hard mental work of comprehending ideas on their own merits. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, learn to separate your feelings about people from your analysis of their ideas.)
If the Red Hat is a weak preference for you (rank 5 or 6)
You may be insufficiently attentive to emotional issues, and may alienate others without realizing that you have done so, or may be unaware of your own stress levels. Learn to strengthen your Red Hat skills through targeted practice, and don't make the mistake of thinking that you can neglect the subjective element of life.
Green Hat (creative/lateral)
If the Green Hat is a strong preference for you (rank 1 or 2)
Your strengths involve a high level of creativity, imagination, intuition, and "thinking outside the box", including the ability to see connections between ideas that others may miss. But if you overdo these strengths, you can easily become unrealistic or hard for others to understand. Often this means a tendency to:
Be overly nonlinear in your approach to problems, which can mean rambling or failing to get to the point in your speaking or writing. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, practice arguing a point in a "straight line" or "outline" manner, strengthening your Black Hat.)
Neglect important facts and details on the false assumption that the facts don't matter. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, learn to pay more attention to key facts, strengthening your White Hat.)
Lose interest with routine matters or become too easily bored, finding it difficult to do things in a standard fashion. (Practice finding ways to motivate yourself through boring stretches of your coursework -- let your Green Hat work for you, not against you, by using your creativity to develop strategies for working within "standard procedures".)
If the Green Hat is a weak preference for you (rank 5 or 6)
You may be insufficiently creative, and may find it hard to generate original ideas when required to do so. Learn to strengthen your Green Hat skills by utilizing brainstorming techniques and appropriate humor, and don't make the mistake of thinking that all valuable ideas must have a "proven track record".
Yellow Hat (logical/positive)
If the Yellow Hat is a strong preference for you (rank 1 or 2)
Your strengths involve optimism, resilience, a focus on the "up side" of situations, and the ability to strengthen weak ideas. But if you overdo these strengths, you can easily become blind to flaws, faults, and problems. Often this means a tendency to:
Resist situations that require you to be critical, even though many courses at the university emphasize "critical" (i.e., analytical) thinking. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, learn how to deliver negative feedback and to spot logical flaws in the ideas of others, strengthening your Black Hat.)
Underestimate the difficulties you may face in completing tasks, because of your underlying belief that "things will work out". (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, try assuming the worst or making a list of what might go wrong if things didn't turn out as well as you expect.)
Become overcommitted because you find it difficult to set priorities, seeing value in everything that comes your way. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, strengthen your Blue Hat by learning to establish appropriate tradeoffs.)
If the Yellow Hat is a weak preference for you (rank 5 or 6)
You may be insufficiently attentive to opportunities and may be more pessimistic than the facts warrant. Learn to strengthen your Yellow Hat skills by adopting an "opportunity mindset", asking yourself what hidden benefits may be found in seemingly negative events or outcomes.
Black Hat (analytic/critical)
If the Black Hat is a strong preference for you (rank 1 or 2)
Your strengths involve a logical, analytical stance that involves a clear awareness of the flaws, mistakes, problems, and errors of others. But if you overdo these strengths, you can easily become pessimistic or be seen by others as critical. Often this means a tendency to:
Be too free with open criticism of others' ideas, which can strike others as contentious, "critical" in an emotional sense, or hostile. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, learn when to "sugar-coat" your criticism or to deflect it, strengthening your Red Hat skills.)
Become a "naysayer" who quickly spots flaws but misses opportunities to salvage ideas and possibilities. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, learn to ask yourself the kinds of "what if?" questions that strong Green and Yellow Hat thinkers use to strengthen flawed ideas.)
Be pessimistic about outcomes because of your natural tendency to identify the worst case scenario. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, try putting on your Yellow Hat and assuming the best for a change, using your good logical skills in a different manner to identify optimal outcomes.)
If the Black Hat is a weak preference for you (rank 5 or 6)
You may be insufficiently attentive to potential negative consequences, which can mean an impulsive, "leap before you look" style; or, you may lack skill at logically dissecting a problem. Learn to strengthen your Black Hat skills by taking a course in formal logic or by pursuing activities like logic/strategy games (e.g., chess) that require you to anticipate negative outcomes before they occur.
Blue Hat (metacognitive/strategic)
If the Blue Hat is a strong preference for you (rank 1 or 2)
Your strengths involve a keen grasp of strategy and of resource limitations, and the ability to plan wisely before acting. But if you overdo these strengths, you can easily become too deliberate, spending too much time planning that you leave too little time for doing. Often this means a tendency to:
Seek overly complex solutions when simpler ones would do, "hypercomplexifying" situations unnecessarily. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, ask yourself what a "naive" person -- for instance, a young child -- might do about the problem, or what you would do if you only had five minutes to solve the problem, or what the most obvious solution might be.)
Be so planful that you miss unforeseen opportunities, and fail to take advantage of "planned happenstance" and serendipity. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, strengthen the spontaneous use of your Green Hat by looking for events that weren't "in the plan" but which can lead to positive outcomes and opportunities.)
Expend too much time getting ready for action and not enough time actually implementing your plans and strategies. (As a strategy for dealing with this problem, experiment with moving to immediate action without a clear plan, since at times an overly elaborate plan is more of a liability than an asset.)
If the Blue Hat is a weak preference for you (rank 5 or 6)
You may be insufficiently attentive to the need to plan and strategize, and may be too impulsive in your responses to situations, not thinking them through sufficiently and not realizing that you have a range of options at your disposal. Learn to strengthen your Blue Hat by taking a few minutes to think before jumping to action.