induction

Induction, or inductive reasoning, is the primary way people process information. It is a reasoning process which takes us from premises to conclusions supported by the premises without deduction, in which something beyond the content of the premises is inferred as probable or supported by them. Induction is reasoning by pattern recognition.

Humans excel at both relating new experiences to old patterns (e.g. analogy making, metaphor making) and completing incomplete patterns. Stories are so appealing because they give us material to find patterns in.

Characteristics --
Induction is usually right, fast, and flexible.

Possible pitfall --
Our ability and tendency to induce may result in making-up stories about patterns we think we see in events that are random.

Strategy development implications --
See reasoning.