Here are the six hats and their associated thinking styles:

1. White Hat: Focuses on data, facts, and information.
2. Yellow Hat: Represents optimism, benefits, and positive outcomes.
3. Black Hat: Highlights caution, risks, and potential downsides.
4. Red Hat: Involves emotions, feelings, and intuition.
5. Green Hat: Sparks creativity, new ideas, and alternatives.
6. Blue Hat: Oversees the process, organizing and controlling thinking.

Your weekly team meetings can be quite predictable: your manager starts with an agenda—but soon enough, the same coworker dominates the conversation with a negative tone, rehashing old ideas. While your manager is a good leader, the discussion feels stuck. For a fresh discussion, maybe it’s time to put on a different thinking cap—one of the six thinking hats.

Six thinking hats is a brainstorming theory that allows a person, group, or organization to approach a decision from different perspectives.¹ The intent behind this theory is to make the best choice possible by adopting various thinking styles or “trying on different hats” so nothing is overlooked. Created by psychologist Edward de Bono in 1985, this tool may be applied to one’s own thinking or to a group setting—just like your work meeting, where each person may present a different point of view. 

Conveniently organized by color, these six “hats” or thinking styles have the potential to designate clear and distinct functions in a work setting. Hats can be mentally worn, taken “on and off,” and applied to redirect meetings, ideas, and discussions. You’re probably already wondering: how do these hats help me make decisions? And do they come in my favorite color? The six thinking hats, along with their corresponding colors and thinking styles, are as follows:¹

White Hat: Thinking in terms of facts and logic. This approach may be useful when objectivity is a priority, where empirically backed information-seeking is key for ensuing advice. An example of a job that primarily applies the white hat is a data analyst or research assistant. 

Yellow Hat: Thinking in terms of optimism, positive outcomes, and potential gains—making this style the opposite of the black hat. Someone wearing the yellow hat sees the glass half full while trying to add further value to their ideas. Often, a leader may be an instance of someone applying yellow-hat thinking. 

Black Hat: Thinking oriented toward caution and risk management, in stark contrast to the yellow hat. Those possessing the black hat are more pessimistic but helpful when identifying areas where things may not work or go wrong. An example may be a politician, who has a negative and critical outlook on given issues.

Red Hat: Thinking that is focused on humanity, intuitions, and emotions. By wearing the red hat, someone would embrace an ethical outlook by putting values and feelings first. This may be useful when sensitive topics or vulnerable groups are involved. A couple of examples of this perspective being applied may be a religious leader or a counselor. 

Green Hat: Thinking with a focus on creativity, innovation, and alternative solutions. Green hat wearers inherently engage in lateral thinking, where alternative ways of solving a problem are always examined. This can be useful when a scientist is trying to find a solution to a complex research issue. 

Blue Hat: What Bono considers to be the most “powerful hat” that acts as the control hub of all other hats. For a blue hat in action, there is a large amount of planning and organization needed. A key instance of a blue hat thinker would be a manager or executive at a company, making sure that all other colored hats are acting accordingly.

As you put your thinking hat on—whatever color it may be—it’s important to know that no hat is necessarily “right” or “wrong.” Rather than a one-sided view, all six hats can be worn to approach a problem from each style prior to committing which hat, or multiple hats, may be most applicable to an issue. This well-rounded approach can improve decision-making by reducing bias, boosting creativity, balancing how much emotions versus logic are applied to an issue, and being able to recognize risks and benefits. 

Although this approach is often applied to team settings, individuals can also try on different hats to broaden their perspective. Switching back and forth can encourage self-reflection, organize thinking, and even encourage us to take approaches we originally neglected. We may envision the six thinking hats worn by individuals at work or in other settings, too. An intuitive example may be an elementary school teacher organically switching from hat to hat: perhaps white for math class, green for science experiments, and blue when overseeing the classroom.

As simple as it sounds, it’s not always easy to wear just any thinking hat as you please; some of us might have our own natural predispositions to wear one hat over others. Naturally, the cautious black hat wearer may have a challenge seeing eye-to-eye with the brightside yellow hat wearer. Similar dichotomies are seen with the factual white hat and emotional red hat, as well as the creative green hat and control-oriented blue hat. For these mismatches between fellow hat-wearers, here are some practical questions and tips to help you get adjusted to each new style:²

Lateral thinking: Also known as horizontal thinking or divergent thinking, lateral thinking is a type of creative problem-solving developed by de Bono in the 1960s that is characterized by thinking “outside the box” via indirect reasoning.³ This style of thinking was key in the evolution of the six thinking hats theory, especially with the development of the green hat. It is considered the opposite of vertical thinking. 

Vertical thinking: A traditional type of logical problem-solving that is both analytical and predictable in nature.⁴ It was introduced at the same time by de Bono with its creative opposite, lateral thinking. Those who think vertically are conscious, data-driven individuals, such as those who wear the white hat. 

Parallel thinking: A type of thinking where multiple ideas and perspectives are considered as a means to a collaborative approach to problem-solving. According to de Bono, one way to engage in parallel thinking is by applying the six thinking hats method, as it is a practical means to think constructively instead of through heated arguments or scattered discussions.⁵

Plus Minus Interesting (PMI): A creative thinking strategy that encourages a learner to reflect on the positive, negative, and interesting aspects of a given lesson or lecture introduced by de Bono in the early 1980s.⁶ In treating ideas, PMI allows students to look at what they’re learning from multiple angles, much like the six thinking hats. 

Born in the early 1930s in Malta, Edward de Bono was a physician with a psychology and physiology background renowned for conceiving many distinct kinds of thinking. About two decades before the six thinking hats were wearable, de Bono was busy developing other types of thinking—elements of such that would have a significant influence on his theory-to-be. The first type was lateral thinking in 1967, acting as a blueprint for the six thinking hats model by advocating for “thinking outside the box.” In this regard, lateral thinking especially sets the scene for the green hat in its creativity. 

In one of his first books entitled Lateral Thinking, described as a textbook for finding creative solutions, de Bono presented lateral thinking as an imaginative concept contrasting with the usual, conventional, and direct problem-solving of vertical thinking. De Bono saw lateral thinking as innovative, with a definitive shift to creative thinking as an effective means to come to a solution. In contrast, vertical thinking was analytical, sequential, and conventional in its reasoning. Another way to understand this difference is how De Bono describes vertical thinking as digging a hole deeper, whereas lateral thinking allows us to dig a new hole in a new place to cultivate thought.⁷

In 1985, de Bono really hit his stride with his published work Six Thinking Hats, which posited parallel thinking as a means to consider a range of ideas and theories to approach a problem in a novel way. In his book, de Bono suggested that parallel thinking was the foundation for the six distinctive styles of thinking. Presenting these styles as “hats” provided an intuitive, imaginable metaphor: we all wear different hats when we engage in thinking, and the color of our hat helps shed light on what type of thinking each person in a team chooses for their role.¹ The hats were not only a way to identify problems but also formulate solutions resulting from a naturally diverse array of thinking styles working together. 

Following his BBC show, de Bono was on TV again about a decade later in 1994 on the British talk program, Opinions. On this public figure-based platform, the idea of having your “Thinking Hats On” was broadcast and then published in The Independent. Remember learning about the big three philosophers—Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—back in school? Though these three were key to the development of critical thinking, de Bono labeled them as absurd for their conventions that have tainted Western thinking for 400 years.8 In this reaction, de Bono established that parallel thinking is a must to bring forward different views and values compared to the lackluster conventions of vertical thinking habits, such as the big three. To de Bono, there was no better way to combat such an issue than the Six Hats Thinking method.

It is noteworthy how de Bono’s influence on how we think was not constrained to only the theoretical. De Bono applied similar thought processes to global affairs and international conflict resolutions, providing advice on peacekeeping initiatives in the Middle East and Europe.9 Through the mid-1980s and into the early 2000s, his text Conflicts: A Better Way to Resolve Them (1985) guided de Bono in his application of parallel thinking into new realms. While de Bono was advising world issues like education, pollution, and human values with world leaders, we can only imagine how many hats he wore. Perhaps he was in rooms with other blue hat-wearers, yet with green hats for creative problem-solving globally, too.

These examples of de Bono’s influence across industries, problems, and borders are not merely a reflection of his influence, but of the six thinking hats themselves. De Bono, as he likely would have wanted to stress, is not the only person who can try on many hats. We can see how the hats worn like the emotional red are important when considering victims of war, the creative green for combatting complex issues surrounding climate change, or perhaps an optimistic yellow in the hopefulness for the next generation of students. Though de Bono is the poster child of the six thinking hats, he exemplifies how any individual, regardless of their profession or expertise, may find benefits in trying on a hat different from their usual pick.

Now after de Bono’s recent passing in 2021, the thinking hats can be, and continue to be worn, in new and exciting ways. Today, someone such as a well-rounded behavioral scientist may put on a green hat for creative behavioral interventions, a red hat to maintain robust ethics and social goodness, and a black hat to synthesize large data sets. How the hats will be made practical in the years to come, whether for creative solutions for sustainable decision-making,¹⁰ or a framework for the evolution of AI,¹¹ will be only some of the next chapters in de Bono’s story of thought. 

Edward de Bono

A Maltese physician who is credited with the concepts of lateral thinking, parallel thinking, and the six thinking hats theory.⁹ Nominated for the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2005, de Bono is recognized as a leader in the broader field of creative thinking. With 70 books written, none are more ubiquitous than the Six Thinking Hats. Aside from being a trained physician, de Bono also holds an MA in Psychology and Physiology from Oxford and a PhD from Cambridge. 

As a creative framework for discovering other ways of approaching issues beyond the usual, the six thinking hats broaden the versatility of how to think. Some of the impacts are related to better decision-making in general, cultivating space for non-traditional forms of thinking, and other improvements such as interpersonal skills. 

Better Decision-Making for Coworkers and Managers

As we reflect on our anecdote from the beginning of the article, we may think of how fatiguing the stagnant thinking and style of a certain workplace or coworker may be. Too often, we find ourselves in situations that could be much more productive and robust if multiple perspectives were taken into account—especially when our boss doesn’t see things from outside their perspective. Managers can put on the six thinking hats, not only the blue one, to bolster their decision-making skills for various issues at a company. One pairing of researchers did so: Gupta & Bodhankar investigated how 100 managers across sectors like banks, IT services, manufacturing, and retail companies in India may try on different hats to make better decisions.¹² 

Through structured questionnaires, interviews, and multiple regression and ANOVA analyses, all six hats were found to have an encouraging impact on managers’ decision-making techniques, except the yellow one. White and green hats had the most statistically significant and positive impacts on decision-making. From this study, we have more empirical faith in how when a team—notably from a manager’s eyes, has a valid framework to view decision-making with the hats on. Whether it be from logical to emotional, cautious to optimistic, and control-oriented to creative, it is likely that higher quality decisions are going to be made. 

More Room for Creative Thinking 

Much of the origin story surrounding parallel thinking and its eventual byproduct, the six thinking hats, was a consequence of de Bono’s frustration with conventional thinking. In the mid-1980s, De Bono continued to assert this point: there is a need for creative energy in thinking styles today. An impact of this theory in terms of making space for creativity is that it requires the necessary design that encourages such thinking—de Bono was clear in predicting that this must be an intentional approach, not an accidental discovery. With this intention, the environment must genuinely welcome all of the hats. Perhaps trying on different hats alone or in small teams first before sharing with the whole team and managers is one way to make all hat-wearers feel that they are able to contribute.

In a day and age where “thinking outside the box” seems to be more valued than ever, we can see how six thinking hats is significant in the normalization of creative thinking across many industries and settings. For instance, imagine how a family-owned cafe may use the hats to plan their coffee selection and creation, but so could a city hospital for doctors, nurses, and other medical staff in improving patient service. Importantly, the wearing of this said-to-be creative green hat actually works and is empirically valid, too. Research has shown that the green hat results in a more unique and creative means of thinking in contrast to the yellow and red hats.¹³ It seems then, that we may claim that these hats are not for stylish or aesthetic looks in thought patterns—they actually do have tangible, applicable effects for the sake of creativity. 

Strengthened Interpersonal Skills 

When we put on one or many of our six thinking hats, we work better with others around us. Some general possibilities might include the encouragement of active listening and communication, support for colleagues, and effective conflict resolution. When it comes to listening, the exchange of hats naturally leads to the practice of listening, questioning, and answering. Trying on a new hat may help someone be more equipped at such practices, when they may not have had the opportunity in the past. 

If and when conflicts do arise at work, the hats can increase confidence in consensual dispute resolutions where each side feels heard and hopefully understood. Conflicts may often be due to a disagreement in how colleagues communicate or complete a task. One way to understand this is if two colleagues are wearing opposing colored hats, such as the emotional red and the factual white. With being able to label colors of hats amongst coworkers, finding patterns for common ground in working collaboratively is easier. By seeing and trying each other’s hats differently from our own, there are higher hopes of finding resolution through the empathic view the six hats provide us with. All in all, these hats give us the chance to be more supportive of each other through understanding the uniqueness of each hat and what each thinking style has to offer. 

As de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats came to be his most popular book, many skeptics and doubters have arisen throughout the years. A few key issues include the application being time-consuming, controversies around its artificial nature, and exactly how the hats are used in reality.¹⁴

Wearing Six Hats Takes Time

When we are accustomed to thinking a certain way, it can be time-consuming to try on other hats while finding the time to appreciate others’ hats, too. The mere switching between hats is not an instant process. To properly execute fruitful hat-wearing, this may require hours or days in a team-building setting. This can be particularly true in situations where all six hats must be tried on by everyone. At the same time, our natural inclinations and cognitive biases about our favorite hats to wear can be an obstacle as well. A creative green may struggle to switch on the logical white. When a given issue is time-sensitive, it may not be feasible to try on a few hats—let alone all six. 

In the case of six thinking hats being applied, the structure often requires participants to revisit the same issue multiple times, each time through a different lens. This repetitive approach can lead to inefficiencies, especially in fast-paced environments, where rapid problem-solving and adaptability are crucial. In team settings, we can see this come up again: can a cautious black hat work effectively with an optimistic yellow hat, and can the pair of them try each other’s hats on in a meaningful way? 

Say you are that positive yellow hat wearer in a social service setting trying to increase accessibility to online mental health services, but you struggle with your pessimistic black-hatted colleague worried about privacy concerns for clients. This is when bringing in other hats like a creative green to appreciate alternative ways to help more people get services yet maintaining confidentiality, perhaps with the logical white hat to handle the necessary coding to achieve this with confidence. Instead of two hats in conflict, a given situation can be reframed so that multiple hats use each others’ strengths to complement one another and lead to better outcomes—for a team, service, or client. 

Artificial Categorization

While the six thinking hats method offers a structured approach to thinking, a limitation is seen as it may force participants into predefined categories. This artificial structure may constrain natural thought processes, as individuals are required to adopt specific thinking modes regardless of the situation. As a result, it might stifle spontaneous creativity or overly simplify complex issues that require nuanced consideration. For instance, mental health professionals working together may put on the hats when supporting a patient with a complex diagnosis. Though the hats may assist with initial brainstorming, the actual diagnosis itself requires detailed, regulated information to make the right call, where the hats may not have the final say.

Additionally, the method's rigid framework can lead to artificial consensus or groupthink. When everyone is "wearing the same hat," there’s a risk that diverse perspectives might be suppressed, reducing the richness of debate and critical thinking. To combat this issue, an exercise at the start of your team’s inaugural six thinking hats session can be the remedy here, such as having each member try on at least three hats. An emphasis on wearing a hat that feels unnatural may be a strategy to facilitate some fruitful discussions and realizations.

How the Hats Are Worn

A key limitation of the six thinking hats method is how, exactly, the hats are even “worn” by participants in the first place. The structure assumes that individuals can easily switch between distinct thinking modes—but in practice, people may struggle to separate their emotions, logic, or creativity in such a defined way. This can lead to confusion or mixed perspectives, especially if participants don't fully engage in the mental shift required for each "hat." These hats may not be the only confusing aspect of our mental headwear here, where cognitive dissonance might also be a culprit of the internal gap between thoughts and behaviors.

This issue is further explained by the method’s artificial categorizing of thinking styles into specific hats, which can hinder more organic, fluid discussions. People may become too focused on adhering to the hats' roles rather than fostering an open exchange of ideas, limiting the overall effectiveness of the process. A common confusion that may be seen here is trying to wear multiple hats at once, or feeling that there are more than six hats needed to properly wear the right one for a given issue. 

Six Thinking Hats for a 7th Graders’ Sustainability Class

Adults in the workplace are not the only ones who wear de Bono’s six thinking hats: children in the classroom are always learning which hat suits them best as students when developing their thinking styles. There may be no other age group that is more open to and naturally tries on their hats with ease than kids. We may then naturally be curious about how the six thinking hats can be explored in teaching children on certain school subjects of different age groups, as they learn how to learn. In Istanbul, Turkey, researchers Toraman & Atlun did just this in 2013, by investigating how efficient the six thinking hats could be for teaching seventh graders.¹⁵

In particular, the authors wanted to discover how a curriculum of a science unit called “Human and Environment” that focused on topics surrounding humans’ impact on wildlife, ecosystems, biodiversity, and climate could be taught via six thinking hats relative to another technique called SCAMPER or directed brainstorming. In this study at a public school, 20 seventh-grade students were examined using observational, open-ended surveys, and interviews for data collection on how the students felt six thinking hats and SCAMPER enriched their learning of environmental sciences. All students were exposed to different lessons via one of two techniques, depending on the topic—for instance, explaining habitats and species using SCAMPER versus students giving examples of plants and animals in danger locally and abroad. 

With results of a hopeful, yellow tone for six thinking hats, Toraman & Atlun found that students showed learning improvements in their ability to compare ecosystems relative to the diversity of both animals and elements of the climate. Seventh graders were particularly concerned about the possibility of plants and animals facing extinction on a global scale after learning through the six thinking hats. This cautionary black tone was reflected by seventh graders, where the majority of students had a negative outlook on the world and environment in the future. 

In a telling tone, the students had a primary view that the world would be a (environmentally) dirty place. Perhaps the six thinking hats may have presented the variation of feelings surrounding ecoanxiety for children—as general awareness of these sustainability issues and that the students could make a difference with these issues was another result. What we can take away from the six thinking hats when applied to children’s learning here is how important it may be for young people to understand the risks of larger global issues, yet gain a sense of empowerment that could inspire the next generation climate activist. 

Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving in the 21st Century

In contemporary times, two pertinent skills that are inherent to understanding the full view of the six hats are strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In the 21st century when such skills may be especially important for success when they are not always explicitly taught in school,⁶ one means to educate on critical thinking and problem-solving skills is through the six thinking hats. 

In his paper, author and professor of pedagogy Charles Kivunja explored using the six thinking hats to teach critical thinking and problem-solving skills in the 21st century in educational contexts. The author provides details on how each colored hat and its corresponding thinking may be applied to teach students about critical thinking and problem-solving. In the spirit of de Bono’s creativity, let’s take a look at green hat-thinking strategies. According to Kivunja’s explication of the green hat, four activities that may help students use this hat include:

1. Generate ideas that are reactive.
2. Come up with starting ideas in general.
3. Think of more and better ideas.
4. Continue to think of new ideas.

This idea-generation process sounds vague at first, but Kivunja cites another concept of de Bono’s to make this more concrete: the Plus or Minus or Interesting (PMI) model.⁶ This model is a means to have students critically assess an idea in connection to the pluses (positives), then minuses (negatives), and lastly, interesting points about a given topic. Through these activities and by using the PMI model, creative thinking naturally emerges in a critical, solutions-oriented way. 

System 1 and System 2 Thinking 

Edward de Bono isn’t the only one with an interesting theory on different styles—or “systems”—of thinking. In this piece, columnist Joshua Loo gives an overview of Daniel Kahneman’s dual systems of thinking. This article differentiates the automatic and fast System 1 from the effortful and slow System 2, with some fascinating discussion points on cognitive biases, advertising, and a bonus section on FAQ for this topic. 

Creativity in the Workplace: How to bolster engagement and productivity at work

After learning about the six hats, you may be thinking which one fits you best. For those of us with the creative green hats on, this article discusses how creativity can be integrated into work in efficient ways. Columnist Janessa Pong explains how psychological needs are crucial in the contemporary workplace, especially considering how creativity can be a key motivational tool at work.

1. Six Thinking Hats. (n.d.). De Bono Group. https://www.debonogroup.com/services/core-programs/six-thinking-hats/
2. Kiziah, E. (2015). Summary: De Bono's (1985) Six Thinking Hats. SEE CHANGE | studio. https://globalioc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/De-Bono-Six-Thinking-Hats-Summary.pdf
3. Lateral Thinking. (n.d.). De Bono Group. https://www.debonogroup.com/services/core-programs/lateral-thinking/
4. Burgh, G. (2014). Creative and Lateral Thinking: Edward de Bono. 10.4135/9781483346229.n86. 
5. Parallel Thinking. (n.d.). https://www.debonogroup.com/services/core-programs/lateral-thinking/parallel-thinking/
6. Kivunja, C. (2015). Using de Bono’s six thinking hats model to teach critical thinking and problem solving skills essential for success in the 21st century economy. Creative Education, 06(03), 380-391. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.63037
7. De Bono, E. (1969). Information processing and new ideas — Lateral and vertical thinking*. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 3(3), 159-171. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2162-6057.1969.tb00124.x
8. De Bono, E. (1994, May 1). Thinking hats on, please: In the first of three essays this week on. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/thinking-hats-on-please-in-the-first-of-three-essays-this-week-on-improving-democracy-edward-de-bono-explores-pointscoring-and-parallel-headwear-1433203.html
9. Dudgeon, P. (n.d.). Summary Biographies of Edward de Bono. deBono. https://www.debono.com/biographies
10. Johnson-Woods, C. (2023, February 5). Struggling with a partnership or sustainability challenge? De Bono has a hat for that. Resonance | Innovative solutions for business and global development. https://www.resonanceglobal.com/blog/struggling-with-a-partnership-or-sustainability-challenge-de-bono-has-a-hat-for-that#:~:text=The%20white%20hat:%20This%20is,used%20for%20management%20and%20organization
11. Pylarinou, E. (2023, December 13). 6 thinking hats: A framework for AI advancements. Medium. https://efipm.medium.com/6-thinking-hats-a-framework-for-ai-advancements-74775afea934
12. Gupta, R., & Bodhankar, A. (2023). Impact of six thinking hats techniques on the legitimate decision-making skills of managers. Russian Law Journal, 11(5s). https://doi.org/10.52783/rlj.v11i5s.963
13. Göçmen, Ö., & Coşkun, H. (2019). The effects of the six thinking hats and speed on creativity in brainstorming. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 31, 284-295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2019.02.006
14. Winter, T. (2015, September 14). 6 Thinking Hats: Praise & Criticism. Human Performance Technology by DTS. https://blog.hptbydts.com/6-thinking-hats-praise-criticism
15. Toraman, S., & Altun, S. (2013). Application of the six thinking hats and scamper techniques on the 7th grade course unit "Human and environment": An exemplary case study. Mevlana International Journal of Education, 3(4), 166-185. https://doi.org/10.13054/mije.13.62.3.4