Logical Reasoning Tests

Published 11 March 2020 · Updated 3 August 2026

• What are logical reasoning tests?

  A logical reasoning test is a timed psychometric test that measures how well you identify rules, patterns and relationships and use them to reach a sound conclusion. Questions typically use sequences of shapes or short sets of statements rather than general knowledge, so nothing you have memorised will help: the test is about how you think, not what you know.

  Logical reasoning is an umbrella term covering two main question families. Inductive reasoning asks you to spot the rule in a pattern and apply it, usually with sequences of figures. Deductive reasoning gives you premises, such as a set of rules or statements, and asks what must follow from them.

  Employers in technology, engineering, finance, consulting and the public sector use logical reasoning tests widely, because they predict how someone handles unfamiliar problems where there is no prior knowledge to lean on.

• Why do employers use logical reasoning tests?

  Many strong candidates look identical on paper. A logical reasoning test separates them on something a CV cannot show: the ability to work out an unfamiliar problem from scratch, quickly and accurately, under time pressure.

  That ability generalises. Someone who can extract the rule from a novel pattern tends to pick up new systems, processes and problems faster on the job, which is why these tests appear across so many industries and at every level from apprenticeships to graduate schemes and management assessments.

  The score is almost never used alone. Employers combine it with interviews and often with other tests, such as numerical or verbal reasoning, to build a fuller picture of how you think and work.

• What is the logical reasoning test format?

  Most logical reasoning tests are multiple choice, with somewhere between 12 and 30 questions and typically under a minute per question. A common inductive format shows a sequence of frames that changes according to one or more hidden rules and asks which frame comes next. Deductive formats present statements or rules and ask which conclusion must be true.

  The rules behind each question are usually simple in isolation: rotation, movement, alternation, addition or removal of elements. The difficulty comes from several rules running at once, and from the clock. Tracking one element at a time across the sequence is more reliable than trying to absorb every change simultaneously.

  Formats differ noticeably between test publishers such as SHL, Korn Ferry, Saville and Aon, and some run adaptive versions that get harder as you answer correctly. Your invitation email normally names the publisher, so you can practise the matching style.

• What skills does logical reasoning test?

  The core skill is abstract problem solving: forming a hypothesis about the rule, testing it against the evidence, and revising it quickly when it fails. The test also measures working memory, because you often need to hold two or three rules in mind at once, and attention to detail, because answer options are built around near-miss patterns.

  Composure matters too. Most candidates meet at least one question where the rule refuses to appear. Strong performers put a time cap on it, make their best elimination-based guess and move on, protecting their score on the questions they can do.

  These skills respond well to practice. The common rule types repeat across tests, and once you have seen rotation, counting and alternation rules a few dozen times, you recognise them in seconds rather than working them out from scratch.