Why It Works
The two opposing statements on Chiji Pocket Processor cards (e.g., competition/cooperation; carefully planning/acting spontaneously) are intended to be two extremes on a continuum, not an either/or dichotomy. Many participants, however, are quick to attach themselves to the extremes and not acknowledge the moderate middle ground.
A good introductory activity to make clear the continuum nature of the cards is to pick any five cards out of the deck and then say to a group, "I want each of you to imagine a line running the length of the room. As I read these cards, I want each of you to place yourself on the appropriate place on that line. You might be far right, far left, or somewhere in between. Understand?
Let's try a card and see if it doesn't make sense. If, in your day-today lives, you tend to 'look at the big picture,' go way left; if you tend to "pay attention to details," go way right. If you are somewhere in the middle, find your place in between." Repeat the procedure another four or five times.
Important Note: The orange statements on the cards are yang, and the blue statements are yin. Therefore be consistent when you direct people to opposite sides of the room. In other words, if on the first card, you make yang (orange) to the right and yin (blue) to the left, then make yang right and yin left on subsequent cards.
This activity serves a couple of purposes. First of all, it does make clear the continuum nature of the cards. When you use the cards later to process an activity, participants will know that 1) the statements of the cards represent a continuum and 2) one side of the card is not necessarily better than the other side. Second, participants will begin to notice basic similarities and differences among people within the group. For example, if half the group is very "goal-oriented" and half is very "process-oriented," this may begin to explain why the group frequently disagrees on how to approach group challenges.
