Introduction The aptitudes and abilities measured by verbal and numeric reasoning tests are easily related to real world tasks, as many jobs require skills with words and numbers. Abstract reasoning tests on the other hand, seem to consist of patterns that have no immediate application to real life. So, why are they often used in management assessment centres? Firstly, experts have identified that individuals can have a lot of specific intelligence – such as numerical, spatial, mechanical or verbal – but seem to have less ‘general’ intelligence. Abstract reasoning is aimed at finding out how much general intelligence you have, by seeing how well you can ‘work out’ the logic in patterns and then finding a solution. , , ’ that you come from. In that sense they are thought to be fair for everybody. Try the 4 questions we have here. They are all of a similar type, so the same principle applies to them all. In each example you will find a logical sequence of five boxes. Your task is to decide which of the boxes completes this sequence. To give your answer, select one of the boxes marked A to E. The answers are at the end of the test.
In this example there are two rules to follow. The first is that the centre of the circle follows the pattern that alternate circles have a dot in the centre. Following this rule, the next diagram in the sequence does not have a dot in the centre. The second rule is that the arrows reverse their direction from up to down and back. So the correct answer must be E
2
D
In this example there are two rules to follow. The first is that the semi-circle and semirectangle alternate positions. The second is that the small black squares rotate clockwise. Following these rules the correct answer is D. e wo ru es n s examp e are as o ows: rs , e c rc e ro a es aroun e ns e o e hexagon Following this rule, only D could be correct. The second rule is that the black triangle alternates its position from bottom left to top right and back again. This confirms that D is correct
4
B
There is only one rule in this sequence. The square and the triangle merge slowly together. The next step in the sequence is that the shapes are fully merged and so the right answer is B.
We hope that you enjoyed this practice test! Some of the main lessons were: 1. Look for patterns in the sequence first. Count the number of items, the number of colours, the number of sides, the sequence of colours, the , 2. Consider that there may be one, two or even three rules in operation 3. Then, see which of the options fit the rules 4. Practice makes perfect. Once you have experienced these type of questions, they are no longer so difficult Learned enough? Try Practice Abstract Reasoning Test 4 to develop your skills even further.
