The Six Thinking Hats technique is cognitively based utilizing de Bono’s own theoretical perspective of Parallel Thinking (de Bono, 2008). Parallel Thinking provides a method of thought processing that is practical, constructive, and invites participants to give their full attention to one point of view at a time. Similar to Bandura’s (1977) Social Learning Theory, Parallel Thinking can be taught, modeled, and learned. Additionally, de Bono (2008) believes that Parallel Thinking complements and supports the theory of Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 2006) in which managing and understanding emotions effectively and using them in thinking and reasoning correlate with life outcomes.
The process of the Six Thinking Hats was developed to escape adversarial thinking, avoid confusion, generate focus and synergy, and to achieve powerful results (de Bono, 1999). The concept is typically used in business settings; however, applying the same concept in counseling supervision can help facilitate and balance diverse viewpoints and polarities. The respective hats in the Six Thinking Hats technique are described by de Bono in the following manner: