THE ROLE OF INDUCTIVE THINKING IN FORMING CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS IN CHILDREN

Abstract

This thesis examines the role of inductive thinking in forming cause-and-effect relationships in children. The relevance of the topic is determined by the fact that causal understanding is one of the central foundations of cognitive development, since it allows children to explain events, predict outcomes, and regulate their actions in relation to the surrounding world. The purpose of the study is to clarify how inductive thinking supports the formation of children’s causal reasoning and to identify the psychological and pedagogical conditions that make this process effective. The study is theoretical and is based on analysis, comparison, and synthesis of classical and contemporary works in developmental psychology and early childhood education. The findings show that inductive thinking enables children to move from repeated observations of particular events to broader conclusions about regularity, dependence, and consequence. This process is closely connected with active exploration, dialogic guidance, explanatory speech, and executive regulation. It is concluded that inductive thinking is a major developmental mechanism through which children begin to understand why events occur and how one phenomenon can produce another.