Role-Based Creativity Prompt
Generate novel uses by viewing the problem through different professional roles
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 98%
The role-based creativity prompt breaks routine thinking by asking a person to approach an object or problem through several familiar professional identities. Each role activates knowledge about different goals, tools, environments, and behaviors, producing associations that may not arise from the person's default perspective. Early answers are usually conventional because learned routines are cognitively accessible; more original answers tend to emerge only after those responses have been exhausted. The method therefore combines deliberate perspective shifts with continued idea generation. Evaluation is postponed until multiple roles have produced options, preventing premature criticism from pulling the thinker back toward familiar uses.
Origin
Barbara Tversky described an experiment in Mind in Motion that asked participants to find creative uses for old objects by adopting the mindsets of different professions.
Core principles
- 01Routine answers appear before novel ones
- 02A familiar role activates a distinct set of knowledge and associations
- 03Changing perspective changes the uses and possibilities that come to mind
- 04Idea volume helps people move beyond habitual responses
How to run it
- 1
Define the Creative Target
Select one object, process, or problem that needs new uses or approaches.
Pro tip Phrase the target as an open question such as “How else could this be used?”
Watch out A target framed around one preferred answer will constrain exploration.
- 2
Select Contrasting Roles
Choose several roles with distinct goals and practices, such as a doctor, gardener, teacher, or performer.
Pro tip Use roles people understand well enough to imagine concretely.
Watch out Roles that are too similar will activate overlapping associations.
- 3
Enter Each Mindset
For each role, consider its typical tasks, tools, constraints, and desired outcomes.
Pro tip Ask what the person in that role notices first.
Watch out Avoid merely changing job labels while retaining your default viewpoint.
- 4
Generate Past the Routine
Produce multiple ideas for each role and continue after the obvious answers are exhausted.
Pro tip Set a minimum number of ideas before evaluating any of them.
Watch out Stopping at the first plausible answer preserves routine thinking.
- 5
Combine and Evaluate
Compare the ideas, merge compatible elements, and test the most promising options against real constraints.
Pro tip Preserve surprising ideas long enough to examine their underlying mechanism.
Watch out Novelty alone does not make an idea useful.
In the wild
Participants consider how different professions might use an umbrella. A conventional rain-covering answer gives way to role-specific possibilities, including using its parts as sticks for holding kebabs.
→ Role prompts produce uses that are less tied to the umbrella's learned routine.
A clinic team asks how a teacher, stage director, hotel manager, and child would redesign its waiting room. Each role highlights different concerns, including instruction, movement, hospitality, and play.
→ The team generates a broader set of design options than a standard facilities discussion would produce.
Common mistakes
Stopping With Obvious Ideas
The first responses usually reproduce learned routines; novelty often appears only after several attempts.
Choosing Near-Identical Roles
Roles with similar practices activate similar associations and provide little perspective shift.
Evaluating During Generation
Immediate criticism narrows exploration before unusual combinations have time to emerge.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for individuals or groups stuck on predictable answers to an open-ended creative problem.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for problems with a single formally correct answer or severe constraints that permit no ideation.
From the transcript
“But the way we got people to think creatively was to ask them to think about different roles of people.”
“So how would a doctor use this? How would a gardener use it?”
“So we ask people to put themselves in mindsets of other professions.”
From the episode
Barbara Tversky on How the Mind Works
Barbara Tversky