‘Divergent thinking’ refers to the ability to come up with multiple responses to a problem, and requires originality, flexibility and the ability to challenge functional fixedness. It has been considered, perhaps erroneously, integral to creative capacity (Said-Metwaly et al. 2022). Some people measure high on divergent thinking, while others do not. For the latter group, all is not lost. Techniques to stimulate divergent thinking can help to generate novel ideas.
One such technique is SCAMPER, developed by Bob Eberle and published in 1971 in SCAMPER: Games for Imagination Development (reissued in 1996 by Prufrock Press). SCAMPER is an acronym, its letters standing for seven different prompts.
S is for Substitute
What can be swapped in and out to improve the product or process?
C is for Combine
What can be combined with the product or process to improve it?
A is for Adapt
How might the product, process, or part thereof be adjusted to serve another purpose or fit another context?
M is for Modify [also sometimes written Modify, Magnify, Minify]
How might the product or process be improved through changes to size, function or shape?
P is for Put to Another Use
How might the product, process, or elements thereof be used for another product or process?
E is for Eliminate
What can be removed from the product or process to improve it?
R is for Rearrange
What might happen if the components of the product or process are reversed, disordered, or otherwise rearranged?
I’ll provide an example from when I first learned this technique. The image is a rough SCAMPER mind map, but there is no requirement to produce a mind map when doing SCAMPER. The problem was provided by the facilitator: how to ask someone to go out with you. The ideas generated in the below show how SCAMPER can help us break out of stale thinking and open us up to new possibilities.
Substitute: What can be replaced or exchanged in the process of asking someone to go out with you?
You can substitute having to ask someone by outsourcing the asking. Why not hire a singagram or put a coded message in the newspaper? Better still, it’s possible to replace the ‘someone’ by asking why you have to ask a person at all. If you prefer cats, all you need to do is learn their love language: open a tin of fish and wait.
Combine: What can you combine with different parts of the process of asking someone to go out with you?
If you combine this process with confidence, much of the fear is taken from it. If confidence is unattainable, perhaps you can try the pretense of confidence, presenting yourself as successful and interesting. Who knows, maybe one day you will be.
Adapt: What elements of asking someone to go out with you can be adapted for a new purpose or to fit them into a new context?
In matters of romance, we can tend to focus on one person at a time. We can adapt this unifocus to multifocus. Openness is an adaptation. If the goal is to ask a number of people, then a high number of rejections is not a sign of failure but a sign that you’ve enacted your adaptation. And why limit yourself to one gender (if you do)? It's a brand new day. Consider whether it works for you to be open to all genders. As David says in Schitt’s Creek, like the wine, not the label.
Modify: What about the size, function or shape of asking someone to go out with you can be changed to generate new possibilities?
‘Embiggen’ your communication skills. I don’t mean dread lord communication, but real communication. Have something interesting to say. Watch a reputable news outlet. Read books (note plural, books, not one book). Try magnifying the request. Use sky writing to ask WILL YOU GO TO PARIS WITH ME THIS WEEKEND? If the person says no, Paris in summer smells badly of urine, you know that person has taste as well as integrity.
Put to Another Use: How can the elements of asking someone to go out with you be put to another use?
Asking someone to go out with you uses time that can be put to another use. Consider the opportunity cost. Wouldn’t you rather be reading a good book? Why don’t you go visit your grandmother? She’s the real love of your life. If you’re experiencing sexual frustration, put that to another use. You could take up marathons or meditation. This is known in Freudian circles as sublimation.
Eliminate: What element of asking someone to go out with you can be removed to improve the process?
We can eliminate romance, moving to an arranged relationship based on mutual interests, values and backgrounds. Arranged marriages are often very successful. Or we can eliminate the people in the process. Do you really want to ask someone to go out with you? If you don’t, you don’t have to. Not everyone is interested in romance or partnerships. You can take the other out of the process too. Perhaps you’d like to romance yourself instead. Please note, though, one thing that should never be eliminated is consent. Coercion is not consent.
Rearrange: What elements of asking someone to go out with you can be rearranged to discover new angles?
Here we come to the television show “Married at First Sight”, surely a product of the SCAMPER process. This show reverses the usual order of asking someone to go out with you and the (for some) ultimate end goal, the semi-permanent union of marriage. SCAMPER, in fact, is responsible for a lot of terrible television.
References
Eberle, B. (1996). SCAMPER: Games for Imagination Development. Prufrock Press.
Said-Metwaly, S., Taylor, C. L., Camarda, A., & Barbot, B. (2022). Divergent thinking and creative achievement—How strong is the link? An updated meta-analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000507