Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Decision Making
Decision Making
study on the
patterns of
reasoning that
explains ones
behaviour
LADDER INFERENCE
the step-by-step Tip 1:
Use the Ladder of Inference at any of stage of your thinking
process. If you're asking any of the following questions,
Selecting your
data or reality?
1. Stop! It's time Interpreting what
to consider it means?
your reasoning. Making or testing
assumptions?
Forming or testing
conclusions?
Deciding what to
do and why?
Use the following steps to challenge
thinking using the Ladder of Inference:
3. From your
current
"rung,"analyz
e your
reasoning by 4. With a new sense of reasoning (and perhaps a
wider field of data and more considered
down the
ladder. This
will help you
trace the facts
Case Study
The Nursing Service Director
has just read the latest
performance of the ICU. The
incidence of infection in
Supervisor Edens area are very
high again for two months in
a row. It's simply not good
enough. She needs to be fired!
So let's see how the scenario plays
using the Ladder of Inference
The latest month's infection statistics (reality)
have come in, and the Nursing Service Director
immediately focuses on Edens ICU (selected
reality). Incidence of infection are increasing
again (interpreted reality). The Nursing Service
Director assumes that the high incidence of
infection is entirely to do with the Edens
performance (assumption), and decides that
Eden hasn't been performing well (conclusion).
So he forms the opinion that Eden isn't up to
the job (belief). He feels that firing Don is the
best options (action).
Now let's challenge the Sales Manager's thinking using the
Ladder of Inference: