Abstract Reasoning Tests

Published 11 March 2020 · Updated 3 August 2026

• What are abstract reasoning tests?

  An abstract reasoning test is a timed psychometric test that measures fluid intelligence: your ability to identify the underlying logic in patterns of shapes and figures you have never seen before. Questions use no words or numbers, which makes the test less dependent on education or language background than most other assessments.

  You are typically shown a sequence or group of figures governed by one or more hidden rules, and asked which option continues the sequence, belongs to the group, or is the odd one out. The rules involve properties like the number of sides, shading, symmetry, size, rotation and position.

  Abstract reasoning is closely related to inductive reasoning, and employers often use the two names interchangeably. Because it predicts how quickly someone learns unfamiliar material, it appears in recruitment across most sectors, especially high-volume graduate schemes.

• Why do employers use abstract reasoning tests?

  Abstract reasoning is one of the purest measures of general problem-solving ability. Because the questions rely on no learned knowledge, they level the field between candidates from different educational backgrounds, which is one reason large employers like them for graduate recruitment.

  The score tells an employer how quickly you are likely to pick up new systems, spot patterns in unfamiliar information and adapt to problems no procedure covers. That generalises to almost any role, which is why the test appears everywhere from technology and finance to healthcare and the armed forces.

  As with other psychometric tests, the result is combined with interviews and often with related assessments such as logical or diagrammatic reasoning before any decision is made.

• What is the abstract reasoning test format?

  Most abstract reasoning tests are multiple choice, with roughly a minute or less per question and typically 15 to 30 questions in total. A question presents a sequence or matrix of figures, and you choose the option that follows the same hidden rule from four or five candidates.

  The rules themselves are usually simple: shapes rotate, elements appear or disappear, shading alternates, counts increase. The difficulty comes from two or three rules operating at once and from answer options designed to match all but one of them. Some publishers run adaptive versions where questions get harder as you answer correctly.

  A reliable technique is a mental checklist: check sides, then shading, then size, then rotation, then count, until one property cleanly explains the sequence. Tracking one element at a time beats trying to absorb every change simultaneously.

• What skills does abstract reasoning test?

  The core skill is inductive pattern recognition: forming a hypothesis about the rule from a few examples, testing it against every figure, and discarding it quickly when it fails. The test also works your working memory, because multi-rule questions require holding several patterns in mind at once.

  It rewards composure under time pressure. Nearly every candidate meets a question where the rule will not appear; strong performers cap their time on it, eliminate the options that break an obvious rule, choose the best remaining answer and move on.

  These skills improve noticeably with practice. The common rule families repeat across publishers, so once you have worked through enough examples, recognition replaces trial and error and your speed roughly doubles on familiar rule types.