Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Cause and effect refers to the relationship between an action (cause) and its consequences (effect). It explores how one event or condition leads to another.
Related terms
Result and Impact: Result refers to the outcome or consequence of an action, while impact refers to the influence or effect that something has on a situation.
Correlation: Correlation describes a statistical relationship between two variables where changes in one variable are associated with changes in another variable.
Causality: Causality is the principle that states that every event has a cause, meaning there is a direct relationship between cause and effect.