Transduction is the transformation of one form of energy

Energy

In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...

 to another. In psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

, transduction refers to the nervous system

Nervous system

The nervous system is an organ system containing a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals between different parts of its body. In most animals the nervous system consists of two parts, central and peripheral. The central nervous...

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In the system transduction occurs when environmental energy is transformed into electrical or neural energy. Receptor cells produce an electrical change in response to a physical stimulus

Stimulus (physiology)

In physiology, a stimulus is a detectable change in the internal or external environment. The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli is called sensitivity....

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According to Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget was a French-speaking Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children. His theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemology"....

's theories on development, transductive reasoning is the primary form of reasoning used during the preoperational stage of development. This stage occurs approximately from the ages of 2-7. Transductive reasoning employs the following reasoning: "If A causes B today, then A always causes B."

Transduction, in simpler terms, is the "reasoning" (making sense) of a stimulus.