Method of Agreement / Method of Difference
Updated 2026-08-13
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The method of agreement holds that if every case in which a phenomenon occurs shares one antecedent condition, that condition is probably its cause; the method of difference holds that if two cases differ in outcome and in exactly one antecedent condition, that condition is the cause. The core proposition is that these two operations are the basic machinery of causal inference where controlled experiments are impossible. The key qualification is that both require the compared cases to be genuinely comparable, since any unmeasured difference reintroduces the alternative explanations the method was meant to exclude.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Agreement scan: compare several positive cases and extract the condition they all share. - Difference design: construct a comparison that varies one condition and see whether the outcome flips. - Sequence choice: use agreement to narrow the candidates, then difference to confirm the survivor.
Anchor fast decisions
If a shared condition is present in every instance of the effect while the cases differ in everything else, that condition is the remaining candidate explanation. If two otherwise identical cases diverge in outcome, the difference between them must carry the cause. The two methods therefore approach causality from opposite directions, from what is common and from what is unique, which is why they are usually applied together.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill%27s_methodsverified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS