Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M7302

5 Whys

5 Whys
StructureHigh supportCritical Thinking
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

- Ask "why" five times in succession to get to the root cause of the problem.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

A drill that penetrates the surface. It forces deep digging into the causal chain, avoiding shallow solutions that only treat symptoms.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Most problems are just symptoms; the root cause lies deeper in the causal chain. Asking "why" layer by layer forces thinking to go beyond immediate causes and approach the systemic root rather than the symptom. Essentially, it is a reverse tracing of the causal chain.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_whysZH · Explicit
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