Which cognitive verb involves making generalizations based on observations?

The cognitive verb that involves making generalizations based on observations is inducing. Induction is the process of deriving general principles from specific examples or observations. When you induce, you analyze data or observations and draw broader conclusions that can apply to other situations or cases.

For instance, if you observe that swans you've seen are all white and conclude that all swans are white, you're employing inductive reasoning. It’s important to note that while this type of reasoning can lead to probable conclusions, it is not definite since new observations may contradict the generalization.

In contrast, the other options represent different cognitive processes. Hypothesizing involves proposing an explanation that can be tested, correlating focuses on identifying relationships between variables without implying cause and effect, and summarizing entails providing a brief overview or recap of information presented, rather than drawing broader conclusions from observed data.