Ladder of inference and protocols for skillful inquiry handout 1 communication tools to support effective community planning conversations. The ladder of inference describes the thinking process that we go through, usually without realizing it, to get from a fact to a. Using the ladder of inference you cant live your life without adding meaning or drawing conclusions. The ladder of inference was first developed by chris argyris and included in the fifth discipline fieldbook by peter. Chris argyris ladder of inference team building activities. The ladder concept is all about the thinking process, about reasoning. The ladder of inference was initially developed by the late chris argyris, former professor at harvard business school, and elaborated on in numerous. The ladder of inference was designed by chris argyris, a leader in organizational learning.
In those few seconds before i take my seat, i have climbed up what chris argyris calls a ladder of inference, a common mental pathway of increasing. The ladder of inference explains why most people dont usually remember where their deepest attitudes came from. Ladder of inference a common mental pathway of inc reasing abstraction, often leading to misguided beliefs. By using the ladder of inference, you can learn to get back to the facts and use your. The ladder of inference describes the thinking process that we go through. Ladder of inference and protocols for skillful inquiry. This entry describes the features of the ladder and how it can be used to help people reflect on their behaviour and the reasoning behind it. The ladder of inference is a useful tool that provides a. The ladder of inference is a key tool of action scienceone approach to action research. The ladder is made up of 7 rungs or stages that outline the rapid process our minds go through to make conclusions and take action in a given situation.
This concept was later used by peter senge in the fifth discipline. The ladder of inference problemsolving training from. This socalled ladder of inference was developed by the american chris argyris, a former professor at harvard business school, in 1970. In this lesson, trevor maber introduces us to the idea of a ladder of inference and a process for rethinking the way we interact. The ladder of inference is a framework developed by organizational learning professor chris argyris. The ladder is a model of our reasoning steps as we assess a situation and decide what action to take. The ladder of inference was first put forward by organizational psychologist chris argyris and used by peter senge in the fifth discipline. The ladder of inference problemsolving training from mindtools. First proposed by chris argyris, way back in 1970, the ladder of inference is a way of describing how you move from a piece of data a comment made to you, or something that you have observed to happen, through a series of mental processes to a conclusion.
Be aware of where you are on the ladder it is best to avoid climbing too high too quickly. The ladder of inference was first developed by chris argyris and included in the fifth discipline fieldbook by peter senge, et. The ladder of inference can help you to no longer jump to premature conclusions and to reason on the basis of facts. The ladder of inference is a mental model first described by organizational psychologist, chris argyris, and later popularized by peter senge in his book, the fifth discipline.