Detailed: Cause and Effect | General Intelligence and Reasoning for SSC CGL PDF Download

Cause and Effect

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

2. 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'

3. 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

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.
(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

Q1:
A. Ahmed is a healthy boy.
B. His mother is very particular about the food he eats.
Ans: (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.

Q2: 
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.
Ans: (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.

Q 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.
Ans: (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.

Q4:
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
Ans: (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.

Q5:
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
Ans: (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.