Here are some other examples of unpacking assumptions using a SEKAR analysis.

The first example seems mostly about personal choice, but is it?

1. Source: Chris would like to own a fancy car, like a Mercedes Benz. She came to believe this idea after seeing how well expensive cars perform and after observing how people view them as status symbols.
2. Evidence: The people in Chris’s neighborhood growing up, as well as the media, treated fancy cars as status symbols. Her parents did, too. Chris doesn’t think of anyone in particular as having given these cars high status, although experts on cars describe how great their engineering is.
3. Knowing: Chris never consciously decided to treat a Mercedes Benz as a status symbol. Regarding the car’s high end engineering, however, she learned about this from articles in car magazines and the experience of being a passenger in a Mercedes, so she consciously formed an opinion about the car’s performance.
4. Assumptions: Chris’s desire for a fancy car rests mostly on the assumption that it would be good to own a status symbol. She hasn’t really analyzed that assumption until now. She says, “I wouldn’t be able to push the limits of a Mercedes if I owned one. I have no place to drive 160 miles per hour! I assume more people would think of me as a success if I owned a Mercedes, including my parents — and me! I also assume that I would be happier if people treated me like a success. I assume some people might view me as a rich snob if I owned a Mercedes, but I also assume I wouldn’t care much about the opinions of people who think that way.”
5. Reconsider: Chris never really questioned her desire to own a fancy car. Chris recognizes that without more resources, perhaps it would be more important to save for retirement than to own a status symbol. She would find it useful to know how much better a Mercedes performs than a less prestigious car. Chris assumes that information is available on the internet or in car magazines. As she reconsiders her desire to own a fancy car, she also says, “I would find it useful to think about whether the people I know would view me as a big success if I had a Mercedes, and how much I care about impressing them. It would also be useful for me to think more about how I define success, and how the people I care about define it. And I wonder who gets to define what’s considered prestigious. . . .”

The next example seems mostly about social policy, but is it?

1. Source: Drew thinks everyone should go to college for the benefits of a liberal arts education, even if some graduates choose a career that doesn’t require a college degree. He decided this after attending college as a history major. Drew didn’t grow up in an intellectually stimulating family, and the study of history gave him a much better understanding of why the world functions as it does right now.
2. Evidence: Drew met a very diverse group of people in college, and studied many different subjects, such as philosophy, literature, art history, and sociology. His idea about the value of a college education thus comes from a combination of experience and learning from others, including experts in academic subjects.
3. Knowing: Drew came to this opinion quite purposefully. In college, he came to the conclusion that the world is very complicated, that no one country or culture has a monopoly on the “good life,” and that it’s important to contribute to the betterment of society. Drew also decided that there is more to life than earning a living. He came to these conclusions somewhat gradually after much deliberation.
4. Assumptions: Many assumptions underlie Drew’s idea, including: (a) people who are well-educated have a higher quality of life; (b) everyone is smart enough, and sufficiently disciplined, to absorb the content of a college education; (c) college is the best place to learn the lessons from the humanities; and (d) the job market can absorb a much higher number of college graduates.  (How would you unpack these assumptions?)
5. Reconsider: Drew has not reconsidered this idea since coming to believe in it. As he rethinks his idea, he would find it useful to know whether people with college degrees who hold blue collar jobs would agree that college was a wise choice for them. He would also like to know whether the costs of a college education become a serious problem for college graduates with low paying jobs. And Drew would like to analyze the assumptions identified above.

Can you add another example to this page? Contact us to share your thoughts.