Question

Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics.

The bagel data also reflect how much personal mood seems to affect honesty. Weather, for instance, is a major
factor. Unseasonably pleasant weather inspires people to pay at a higher rate. Unseasonably cold weather,
meanwhile, makes people cheat prolifically; so do heavy rain and wind. Worst are the holidays. The week of
Christmas produces a 2 percent drop in payment rates-again, a 15 percent increase in theft, an effect on the
same magnitude, in reverse, as that of 9/11. Thanksgiving is nearly as bad; the week of Valentine's Day is also
lousy, as is the week straddling April 15. There are, however, a few good holidays: the weeks that include the
Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. The difference in the two sets of holidays? The low-cheating
holidays represent little more than an extra day off from work. The high-cheating holidays are fraught with
miscellaneous anxieties and the high expectations of loved ones.
The excerpt is an example of inductive reasoning because the authors
work from a generalization to formulate specific examples.
arrive at a generalization after starting with and her generalization.
formulate a generalization by studying specific examples.
O arrive at specific examples by studving other examples.

Answer 1

The excerpt from Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics uses inductive reasoning by studying specific examples of bagel payments to draw generalizations about honesty and its influencing factors.

Step-by-step explanation:

The excerpt from Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics is an example of inductive reasoning because the authors are formulating a generalization by studying specific examples. This method starts with detailed observations about bagel payments and dishonesty, and through analysis of these specific instances, the authors draw broader conclusions about human behavior and the factors affecting honesty such as weather and holidays. This process moves from particular details to broader insights, which is characteristic of inductive reasoning.