Attributing cause and effect between one's own feelings and events where none exists is known as:

• A. Causal reasoning
• B. Random correlation
• C. Magical thinking
• D. Sequential logic

Answer: (C)

This describes magical thinking. It’s when a child believes their own feelings, thoughts, or wishes can cause events to happen, even when there’s no real connection. For example, they might think feeling angry caused a storm, or that simply wishing for something made it occur. This kind of thinking is common in young children as they try to make sense of the world and exercise a sense of control.

This isn’t about real cause-and-effect reasoning, which would rely on evidence and patterns. It isn’t about random correlation, which is recognizing two things happen together by chance without a causal link. And it isn’t about sequential logic, which focuses on the order of events and steps rather than personal influence. Magical thinking highlights how children interpret their own inner experiences as having power over real-world outcomes.