Ladder of inference

The ladder of inference explains how we turn our perceptions into beliefs which guide our decisions and actions which, in turn, determine our future perceptions. It talks about how we create meaning schemas, how those schemas can become divorced from the reality of our experiences, and how those schemas become self-perpetuating and self-reinforcing.

The ladder stands on the ground of actual events and experiences. But each rung going up the ladder is constrained by the limitations of the rung underneath it.

1. The first rung is our observations or perceptions of those experiences. What is accessible?
   We are limited by the amount of information that is physically available to us from an experience. 

2. The second rung is about the selections we make from what is observable. What is significant?
   We are limited by the amount of available information that we can process, so we select information that appears to be important. 

3. The third rung is about how we interpret the information we have selected.  What is meaningful?
   We are limited in our ability to conceptualise complex dynamic relationships, so we tend to favour simplistic interpretations of the information we have selected. 

4. The fourth rung is about what assumptions we make based on those interpretations. What are the implications?
   We are limited by our ability to imagine the full range of possible alternative scenarios, so we tend to use familiar patterns and stereotypes to make our predictions.

5. The fifth rung is about the conclusions we come to based on those assumptions. What choices do we make?
   We are limited by our need for certainty and closure, so we tend to latch on to the first conclusions that offer an escape from feelings of uncertainty and ambiguity.

6. The sixth rung is about the wider belief systems that are built from those conclusions. What generalisations do we make?
   We are limited by our need to validate our own worldview, so we will tend to force our existing conclusions onto new experiences and to ignore exceptions and discrepancies.

7. The seventh rung is about the actions we take based on our belief systems. How do we behave?
   We are limited by our need for a sense of consistent personal and social identity, so we will tend to avoid actions that feel uncomfortable for us.

Our actions will then determine the kinds of experiences we are exposed to and the kind of observations we are able to make as a result of those experiences (looping back down to the bottom of the ladder).

This framework effectively describes the development and application of meaning schemas. Although, in some ways, the linear formulation makes it easier to understand, in reality the interaction between our actions, perceptions and our meaning schemas is more complex and dynamic.

What's nice about this framework is that it ends with actions rather than starting with them (at least if you ascend the ladder). You could of course start at the top and climb down if you wanted to.

Reflective questions based on ascending the ladder of inference

1. What information was accessible to me at the time?
   What extra information do I have now that I didn't have then?
   What if I had been able to observe from a different perspective?

2. What did I choose to pay attention to, and why?
   What did I choose to ignore, and why?
   What if I'd paid more attention to something else or allowed myself more time for taking in information?

3. What patterns and connections did I see in the information available to me?
   What other patterns could I have observed?
   What if I had interpreted the information differently or held off from trying to interpret?

4. What assumptions did I make in order to fill in the gaps in my knowledge?
   What alternative assumptions could I have made?
   What if I had assumed something different or avoided making assumptions?

5. What decisions did I make as part of this experience?
   What alternative decisions could I have made?
   What if I had reached different conclusions or just kept my options open?

6. What generalisations did I make within and as a result of this experience?
   What exceptions or inconsistencies did I ignore?
   What if I had assumed that this situation was unique and different?

7. What did I do as a result of this?
   What else could I have done?
   What if I'd acted differently or refrained from acting?

Reflective questions descending the ladder

• How did my pre-existing beliefs determine my actions within that situation?

• How have my beliefs formed from the decisions I have made in the past?

• How have my past decisions been influenced by assumptions I have made?

• What kind of assumptions do I tend to make and how are they based on my understanding of the world?

• How is my understanding of the world limited by the things I have chosen to pay attention to?

• How are the things I have paid attention to related to what information has been most easily available to me?

• How have my behaviours limited the information that is available to me?