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Medical AI Inquiry: You were designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.
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A 5-year-old boy told his mother that he had an accident with his bicycle because he was thinking of taking some money from his mother. This type of reasoning is known as
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The correct answer is  The type of reasoning used by this 5-year-old boy, who believed that something bad he was thinking caused a bad event to occur (i.e., the bicycle accident), is called magical thinking. This type of reasoning is typical of children in Piaget's preoperational stage (age 2-7 years).