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Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
Cause and Effect
2.1.
Format
3.
Types of Causes
3.1.
Immediate cause 
3.2.
Principal cause 
3.3.
Independent cause 
4.
Question Types
4.1.
Type 1 
4.2.
Type 2
5.
Sample questions
6.
Frequently asked questions
6.1.
What is cause and effect reasoning?
6.2.
What is a cause and effect diagram?
6.3.
Is cause and effect deductive reasoning?
6.4.
How are cause and effect determined?
6.5.
Are cause and effect a vital topic to learn?
7.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

Cause and Effect

Introduction

Aptitude is a component of the ability to perform a particular task at a specific level. Aptitude is the inborn ability to perform specific tasks, whether developed or underdeveloped. A famous aptitude question asked is "cause and effect. 

Cause and Effect

Let's learn about cause and effect in this blog.

Cause and Effect

Determining the connection between two assertions is the primary goal of cause and effect questions. This implies that we must establish if one of the claims directly causes the other or if either of the statements directly affects the other.

Cause: The thing that gives rise to the phenomenon or action.

Effect: Result or consequence of an action or other cause.  

Now let's analyze how the questions will be framed and answered in cause and effect type problems.

Format

The question generally consists of 1 or 2 statements followed by a series of options as an answer.


In most cause-and-effect problems, there will be given five different options that are primarily confusing, they are: 

(a) Statement I is the cause, and statement II is its effect. 

(b) Statement II is the cause, and statement I is its effect. 

(c) Both statements I and II are independent causes. 

(d) Both statements I and II are effects of independent causes. 

(e) Both statements I and II are effects of some common cause.

We need to pick one correct option from these statements, so let's see some examples for more clarity.
 

Example 

Statement 1: A large tree broke and fell in the middle of the road in lane 5601.

Statement 2: Traffic police requested the vehicles to move from lane 5604. 

(a) Statement I is the cause, and statement II is its effect. 

(b) Statement II is the cause, and statement I is its effect. 

(c) Both statements I and II are independent causes. 

(d) Both statements I and II are effects of independent causes. 

(e) Both statements I and II are effects of some common cause.

Here, the answer is option A because statement 2 is the effect of statement 1 being the principal cause.

Now, what is a "principal cause"? Let's see!!

Types of Causes

We have three different types of causes,

  1. Immediate cause
  2. Principle cause
  3. Independent cause

Immediate cause 

It comes before the impact instantly. This cause and effect are the closest in terms of proximity to time.

Example

Statement 1: You study well for an exam, and your examination goes well.

Statement 2: You pass with flying colours.

The immediate cause here is "You study well. "

Principal cause 

The most crucial reason behind the effect is the principal cause. The immediate cause can also be the principal cause and vice versa. 

Example

Statement 1: Diane is always absent.

Statement 2: Diane is sick.

The principal cause here is "Diane is sick.“

Independent cause 

There is no connection between the cause and the stated effect in this type of cause.

Example

Statement 1: The population of India is expected to increase to 1.515 billion in 2030.

Statement 2: India's most widely used language is Hindi, also spoken by 52.83 crore people.

The two sentences cover two distinct generalized statistical findings.

Question Types

Based on the cause-and-effect relationship, we can easily find the relation between the given statements in the questions. There are a few types of questions that we will go through now.

Type 1 

The cause is an event that leads to another event, which is the effect of the triggering event. If there is a sequence of events, the event which is an effect shall always be preceded by an event that was its triggering cause event.

Now let's see the examples in this topic which are asked in many aptitude tests.

Example 1: 

Statement 1: Public Society School worked hard for six years to rebuild itself after its senior coach died.

Statement 2:The Public Society School won the Interschool championship trophy after their consistent efforts. 

Statement 3: The Public Society School reached number 1 after huge success. 

Solution: If we consider statements 1 and 2, we can see that statement 2 results from statement 1. Hence, statement 1 is the cause for the effect in statement 2. Similarly, if statements 2 and 3 are analyzed in a pair, you will see that statement 2 was the cause for the effect in statement 3.  

So from the above example, we can define that any particular statement may play the role of both cause and effect, depending on the other statements in whose respect this particular statement is being analyzed.

Example 2: 

Statement 1: The government has put up a strict lockdown.

Statement 2: Cases of Covid have been steadily decreasing. 

Solution: Statement 1 is the cause, and 2 is the effect. Since the lockdown has been imposed, people can't step out unnecessarily, and Covid has been reduced. 

Now let's see another set of problems in cause and effect. 

Type 2

The required conditions are part of the sufficient condition for the events to occur. An event can only happen once an essential condition is met.

Example 1:

Statement 1: Flying is sufficient for being a bird.

Solution: Flying is impossible unless one is also a bird. However, being a bird is only sometimes necessary for flying.

Example 2:

Statement 1: You must adhere to the deadline to get your work appraised.

Solution: If you get your work appraised, you must adhere to the deadline. Or, if you do not adhere to the deadline, you are not appraised. A condition is called a sufficient condition if, in a particular event, you are satisfied with the results. 

Sample questions

Example 1

Statement 1: The school has asked the class 12 students to attend extra weekend classes.

Statement 2: Parents of the class 12 students have removed them from weekend tuition.

(a) Statement I is the cause, and statement II is its effect. 

(b) Statement II is the cause, and statement I is its effect. 

(c) Both statements I and II are independent causes. 

(d) Both statements I and II are effects of independent causes. 

(e) Both statements I and II are effects of some common cause.

Here, the answer is option “a” because statements one is the cause and two is the effect of it.
 

Example 2

Statement 1: Ardhi is an all-rounder student.

Statement 2: Ardhi indulges herself in co-curricular activities daily after class with due diligence.

(a) Statement I is the cause, and statement II is its effect. 

(b) Statement II is the cause, and statement I is its effect. 

(c) Both statements I and II are independent causes. 

(d) Both statements I and II are effects of independent causes. 

(e) Both statements I and II are effects of some common cause.

Here, the answer is option “b” because statement two is the cause for statement one.
 

Example 3

Statement 1: The committee imposed strict colony rules for its residents.

Statement 2: All residents of the colony must follow the committee rules.

(a) Statement I is the cause, and statement II is its effect. 

(b) Statement II is the cause, and statement I is its effect. 

(c) Both statements I and II are independent causes. 

(d) Both statements I and II are effects of independent causes. 

(e) Both statements I and II are effects of some common cause.

Here, the answer is option “c” because statements one and two are independent causes. After all, not every resident will follow the rules.
 

Example 4

Statement 1: Many residents in the colony have reportedly suffered from viral fever.

Statement 2: Local Practitioner of the colony has closed his clinic for a few days.

(a) Statement I is the cause, and statement II is its effect. 

(b) Statement II is the cause, and statement I is its effect. 

(c) Both statements I and II are independent causes. 

(d) Both statements I and II are effects of independent causes. 

(e) Both statements I and II are effects of some common cause.

Here, the answer is option “d” because statements one and two are effects of independent causes.


Example 5

Statement 1: Many people visit the temple on Sunday.

Statement 2: Few people visit the temple during the other days of the week.

(a) Statement I is the cause, and statement II is its effect. 

(b) Statement II is the cause, and statement I is its effect. 

(c) Both statements I and II are independent causes. 

(d) Both statements I and II are effects of independent causes. 

(e) Both statements I and II are effects of some common cause.

Here, the answer is option “e” because statements one and two are effects of a common cause.

Frequently asked questions

What is cause and effect reasoning?

When examining events, people naturally seek to explain why things happened. This search often results in cause and effect reasoning, which asserts or denies that one thing causes another or another causes another.

What is a cause and effect diagram?

It visually demonstrates how a particular outcome and its affecting elements are related.

Is cause and effect deductive reasoning?

It can only be understood if the other arguments used to infer a consequence also establish a cause-and-effect link.

How are cause and effect determined?

We search for an event that triggered another event to identify cause and effect links. The reason an event occurs is its cause. What transpired was the result. There may occasionally be several causes and effects.

Are cause and effect a vital topic to learn?

Cause and effect questions frequently appear on famous government exams, aptitude tests, and State Public Service Commission Exams.

Conclusion

In this blog, we explored different types of causes followed by different types of effect problems. We also analyzed how to solve cause and effect problems more clearly. 


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