Types of Cause and Effect for Competitive exams

Cause and effect is a profound aspect of logical reasoning used for assessing students’ abilities to think creatively and logically in any given case or event.

It is a system of logical reasoning where a proof or evidence is required to be provided about how a thing happened or how an event took place.

In cause and effect, you are required to provide a clear reason for the occurrence of an event (which is the cause) and also the outcome of the event that occurred (which is the outcome of the cause).

For example, in this cause and effect statement, “the child died due to poor medical attention”, the cause and effect are as follows:

Cause: Poor medical attention (that the child had received)

Effect: The child died.

Here, there is an action which is the cause and as well, a follow-up reaction which is the effect, occurring as a result of the action.

Types of Causes in Logical Reasoning

While some events could take place as a result of one cause, some can also take place as a result of more than one cause. On the other hand, one cause can result in one effect sometimes, it can also result in multiple effects. Multiple causes however, can also result in one cause.

Here are the 3 main types of Causes encountered in logical reasoning:

• Immediate Cause

This type of cause occurs immediately after the effect has taken place.

For example,

George crashed his car in a ghastly accident just after he lost control of his car.

The immediate cause in this statement is, “he lost control of his car”.

In the example above, the effect (crashing of George’s car) took place or happened just immediately after he lost control of his car.

• Principal Cause

While an immediate cause might not be the major or principal reason for the occurrence of an event, the principal cause is the major reason why an event took place.

Of all the possible causes of an event, the principal cause is the most important.

For example,

The man is obviously wearing out because he is overworking himself and he does not rest.

The principal cause in the example above is, “he is overworking himself and he does not rest”.

This cause is the most important and the principal among other likely causes of the man’s wearing out.

•  Common Cause

Common cause is a type of cause that leads to the occurrence of more than one effect (usually two effects) in a given statement. This cause is called the common cause of the two given effects.

In the statement, the common cause is not mentioned.

For example:

1st Statement: There is a high number of people in a city compared to the number of residential buildings in the city.

2nd Statement: The economy of the city is no longer able to support its citizens.

The common cause of the two effects above is that “there is overpopulation in the city or that the city is overpopulated”.

These types of causes are generally placed in 3 categories, which are:

• Necessary Causes: These are causes that must be present for an event to take place. In their absence, an event cannot take place although they might not solely be responsible for the occurrence of the event.

• Sufficient Causes: These causes include all the causes that are important for an event to take place. They are the needed causes for the occurrence of an event.

• Contributory Causes: These causes do not initiate the occurrence of an event on their own. They only contribute to the reason why an event will occur hence, their name. 

Methods to Understand Cause and Effect in Verbal Reasoning

As a student, here are a few methods that will help you in understanding causes and effects in verbal reasoning.

Cause and effect is an aspect of logical reasoning that we use on a daily basis, i.e. every passing day, we incorporate the cause and effect principle in our daily activities, even though we might be doing it without really being intentional about it. It is more like a default act.

As a student, think of why you are in school. Your being in school is an effect of a particular cause which might be “to be educated”, “to find a good paying job after your education and sit comfortably”, “to have the wealth of knowledge in a particular field”… Your reasons might vary.

All of these cases are cause and effect cases. You eat every day for a reason. That reason is the cause and the “eating” is the effect.

To understand cause and effect efficiently, it is best to incorporate it into our daily lives. It finds application in most things we do every day.

You exercise every day for a reason. You sleep every day for a reason. All of these are cause and effect cases that we engage individually every day. The reasons are the causes while the effects are the ‘acts’ themselves.

What are the different cause and effect patterns in logical reasoning?

Here are two major cause and effect patterns in logical reasoning.

1. When cause comes before the effect.

For example:

Because he did not wake from sleep early enough, he could not meet up for his interview.

Here, the cause which is “he did not wake from sleep early enough” comes before the effect which is, “he could not meet up for his interview”.

2. When the cause comes after the effect.

For example (using the same case above):

He could not meet up for his interview because he did not wake from sleep early enough.

Here, the cause which is “he did not wake from sleep early enough” has come after the effect which is “He could not meet up for his interview”.

Conclusion

The concept of cause and effect is one which we all engage every day in our lives. We take decisions as an effect to some particular causes or reasons. Thus, cause and effect finds application in our daily lives. There are various methods of understanding the concept of cause and effect but the most common and the easier way of understanding it is by incorporating it into your daily life. Cause and effect can also come in different patterns as the cause can come before the effect sometimes, while it can also be the other way round some other times.