Page 638 - Understanding Psychology

Skills Handbook
Reading and Critical Thinking Skills
Identifying Cause-and-Effect Relationships
When reading information, it is important to determine cause-and-effect relationships in order to understand why an event occurred. A cause is the action or situation that produces an event. An effect is the result or consequence of an action or situation. The connection between what happens and what makes it happen is known as a cause-and-effect relationship.
Learn the Skill
1. Begin by asking questions about why events occur. Look for related problems and actions, since these are potential causes of the event.
2. Look for clue words that may help you identify whether one event caused the other. Words or phrases such as because, led to, brought about, pro- duced, as a result of, so that, for this reason, as a con- sequence, as an outgrowth, if, since, and therefore indicate cause-and-effect relationships.
3. Identify the outcome or impact of the event or situation. Look for relationships between events. Be sure to check for other, more complex, con- nections beyond the immediate cause and effect. For example, in a chain of events, an event often becomes the cause of multiple events.
CAUSE§EFFECT (CAUSE)§EFFECT
Takes drugs to reduce stress§Becomes dependent on
drugs§Steals to support drug habit
Apply the Skill
Read the passage below and then identify the causes and effects by creating a cause-and-effect diagram. In a paragraph, discuss the immediate effects and possible later effects.
In a recent study of 107 kindergarten students in New York City, [Dr. Carol] Dweck confirmed the notion that negative reactions to failure and criti- cism start early. Dweck asked the children to role- play a scene in which they pretended to give their teacher a gift they had made. Almost all of them were happy with the gift they gave. But, after the teacher found something wrong with it, nearly half of them decided that the gift they had made was “bad,” while the rest of them still considered the gift “good” (Azar, 1996).
Comparing and Contrasting
Often it is necessary to use comparing and contrasting to understand concepts, to make decisions, or to solve problems. Explain to students that making comparisons is a good way to organize infor- mation and extend understanding about the behavior of people. As long as two things share one common quality, they can be compared. To make a comparison, students must examine two or more groups, situations, events, or documents. Then students must identify similarities, or ways they are alike, and differences, or ways they are not alike. Comparing means identifying similar- ities. Contrasting means identifying differences.
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