Cause and Effect
The necessary condition for an event to occur is a cause which supplements an event to occur.
For a cause to be valid, it must be either sufficient or necessary.
- Necessary Condition for an event to take place is that condition without which the event will not occur.
- Sufficient Condition for an event to take place is that condition under whose presence event must occur.
e.g. For life to exist on earth we require
(a) air (b) water (c) food.
Condition (a), (b) and (c) together makes sufficient conditions for life to exist on Earth but individually they are necessary condition for life to exist on Earth.
Therefore, we can say that there may be more than one necessary conditions for the occurrence of an event and all those necessary conditions must be included in the sufficient conditions.
Different Types of Causes
Immediate Cause : An immediate cause is one which occurs immediately before the effect.
e.g. I slapped Rohan after that he slapped me.
Here, the immediate cause is "I slapped Rohan".
Principal Cause : It is the most important reason behind the effect .
e.g. Rohit fails in annual exam because he does not study.
Here, the principal cause is 'he does not study'
Common Cause : Two effects given in two statements may be caused by a third unmentioned event which is called the common cause of the given events.
e.g
Statement 1. Global warming is increasing.
Statement 2. The glaciers are melting
Here, the common cause will be the "amount of carbon dioxide" is increasing.
Types of Questions
There are mainly two types of questions, which are generally asked in various competitive examinations.
Type #1: Statement and Direction Based Questions
In this type of questions, two statement are given and the candidate has to identify whether they are independent causes or effects of independent causes or a common cause etc.
Direction (Example Nos. 1-3) In the given questions, there are given two statements A and B. These statements may be either independent causes or may be effects of independent causes or a common cause. One of these statements may be the effect of the order statement. Read both the statement and decide which of the following answer choices correctly depicts the relationship between these two statements.
Give Answer
(a) If statement A is the cause and statement B is its effect;
(b) If statement B is the cause and statement A is its effect;
(c) If both the statements A and B are independent causes;
(d) If both the statements A and B are effects of independent causes; and
(e) If both the statements A and B are effects of some common cause
Example 1:
A. Ahmed is a healthy boy.
B. His mother is very particular about the food he eats.
Solution (b) Since, Ahmed's mother take care of what he eats, Ahmed has a good health. Hence, (B) is the cause and (A) is effect. Therefore, (b) is correct.
Example 2:
A. The staff of airport authorities called off the strike they were observing in protest against privatisation..
B. The staff of airport authorities went on strike, anticipating at threat to their jobs.
Solution (d) Clearly, calling of the strike and going on strike are events, that may not be backed by the same cause. Therefore, they must have been effects triggered by separate independent causes.
Example 3:
A. Party 'X' won clear majority in the recently held state assembly elections.
B. Of late, there was unrest in public and also among the members of the ruling party of the state.
Solution (e) It can be safely assumed that party 'X' was earlier in the opposition and has benefitted from anti incumbency. But A and B are consequences of a common cause, i.e., bad governance by the ruling party.
Type #2: Direct Cause and Effect Based Questions
In this type of questions, a cause or an effect is given followed by 4 or 5 options. The candidate has to choose the correct effect or cause from the options which suits the given statement most.
Example 4:
Cause A severe cyclonic storm swept away most part of the state during the last two days
Which of the following cannot be a possible effect of the above cause?
(a) Heavy rainfall was reported in most part of the state during the last two days
(b) many people were rendered homeless as their house were flown away
(c) The communication system of the state was severely affected and continues to be out of gear.
(d) Government has ordered that all the offices and schools should be kept open
(e) All above are possible effects
Solution (d) In such a cataclysmic scenario, the Government is likely to order the closure of offices and schools.
Hence, statements (d) cannot be a possible effects of the given cause.
Example 5:
Effect The prices of food grains and vegetables have increased by about 30% in the past three months.
Which of the following cannot be a probable cause of the above effect?
(a) The farmers have decided to change their farming style
(b) The prices of other products have increased more than 30%
(c) The number of farmers has reduced
(d) Occupation of farming has not been viewed as a reputed work
(e) None of the above
Solution (b) The prices of food grains and vegetables have increased by about 30% due to increase of more than 30% in the price of other products, because farmers will need 30% more funding for purchasing other products.
Hence, statement (b) can be probable cause of the given effect.
TIPS on cracking Reasoning Questions on Cause and Effect
Tip #1: Generally statements that happened in the past are the cause while statements in the present are the effect
Statements:
1. There has been mass recruitment of IT professionals by Indian IT companies.
2. many developed countries are increasingly outsourcing IT related functions to India and China.
Options:
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 are independent causes
D. Both statements are effects of independent causes
E. Both statements are effects of some common cause
Solution:
The outsourcing has led to creation of jobs in IT in India. So, Statement II is the cause while Statement I is effect. Hence, the correct answer must be B.
Tip #2: Read each statement very carefully to understand the nature of the cause and effect relationship
Options:
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 are independent causes
D. Both statements are effects of independent causes
E. Both statements are effects of some common cause
Statements:
I. The braking system of the tourist bus carrying 40 passengers failed while negotiating a stiff climb on a hilly road.
II. The tourist bus fell into the gorge killing at least ten passengers and seriously injuring all the remaining.
Solution:
Brake failure led to the accident. Thus, the correct answer is A.
Statements:
I. The Government has decided to increase the prices of LPG cylinders with immediate effect.
II. The Government has decided to increase the prices of Kerosine with immediate effect.
Solution:
Both are the effects of common cause as prices of both LPG cylinders and Kerosine increases abruptly. It seems that the cause may be the increase in price of petroleum. So the answer is E.
Tip #3: Do not try to force fit the statements into a cause and effect relationship as they could be the effects of a common cause or two independent causes
Statements:
I. The price of aircraft fuel has risen during the past few months.
II. Many Passenger airlines in India have been forced to cut their air fares by about 10%.
Options
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 are independent causes
D. Both statements are effects of independent causes
E. Both statements are effects of some common cause
Solution:
I is usually the effect of the hike in global petroleum prices. Because of some cause. Similarly, II is usually the effect of competition in aviation, due to some cause. But the causes of these effects seem to be different and independent. So answer is D.
Tip #4: Use general knowledge to link the statements
Statements:
I. There has been an increase in the underground water level column at all place in Delhi due to the last year's monsoon rains.
II. Many trains had to be cancelled last year due to water-logging on the railway tracks.
Options:
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 are independent causes
D. Both statements are effects of independent causes
E. Both statements are effects of some common cause
Solutions:
Both the statements are clearly the result of monsoon rains in the Delhi. So the correct answer is E.
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