Study sheet: Abstract Reasoning Test 1

📋 Course Outline

1. Purpose of Abstract Reasoning
2. Spearman’s General Intelligence Theory
3. The General Intelligence Factor
4. Abstract Reasoning Test Formats
5. Test Instructions and Answers

📖 1. Purpose of Abstract Reasoning

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Abstract reasoning tests : use diagrams, symbols, or shapes instead of words or numbers to assess the identification of underlying patterns and their solutions

★ Must-know

📌 Verbal and numeric reasoning tests can be related to real-world tasks and jobs, whereas abstract reasoning tests use questions that appear to have little or no direct real-world application.

Further detail

• Abstract reasoning questions appear in most graduate and management aptitude tests.

💡 Memory Hook

Words and numbers have direct job applications; abstract figures test relationships without them.

📖 2. Spearman’s General Intelligence Theory

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Two-factor theory : Spearman — states that intellectual performance is explained by one or more factors common to all intellectual tasks

★ Must-know

• Spearman used factor analysis to examine relationships between people’s scores on different types of intelligence tests.

📌 Spearman concluded that people who perform well on some intelligence tests tend to perform well on others, while people who perform poorly on one intellectual test tend to perform poorly on others.

Further detail

• Abstract reasoning tests date back to research conducted by the psychologist Charles Spearman in the 1920s.

💡 Memory Hook

Factor analysis → shared intellectual factors → the two-factor theory.

📖 3. The General Intelligence Factor

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• General intelligence factor : Spearman’s general intelligence factor, called “g,” is the common intellectual ability underlying performance across different tasks.
• g : Spearman defined “g” as “the innate ability to perceive relationships and educe co-relationships.”

★ Must-know

• Abstract reasoning measures general intelligence by requiring the test-taker to perceive relationships in a pattern and work out the corresponding relationships without requiring language or mathematics.

Further detail

📌 Because abstract reasoning questions are visual and independent of language and mathematical ability, they are considered indicators of general intellectual ability and culturally fair.

💡 Memory Hook

A bright person carries a large central “g” that supports many intellectual tasks.

📖 4. Abstract Reasoning Test Formats

★ Must-know

• The test includes questions requiring the test-taker to:
  • complete series
  • complete statements
  • identify odd figures
  • identify figures belonging in neither group
  • complete grids

Further detail

• The test contains 25 questions with visual answer choices labelled A, B, C, and D, while odd-one-out questions also include choice E.

💡 Memory Hook

Complete a series or grid, identify the odd figure, then classify group membership.

📖 5. Test Instructions and Answers

★ Must-know

📌 The test-taker should answer as many questions as possible within 20 minutes and circle the letter corresponding to the correct answer.

Further detail

• The answer key gives the following answers: 1 A, 2 C, 3 C, 4 D, 5 B, 6 B, 7 C, 8 D, 9 A, 10 C, 11 C, 12 D, 13 A, 14 D, 15 E, 16 D, 17 A, 18 C, 19 A, 20 B, 21 D, 22 B, 23 C, 24 C, and 25 D.