Raven's Matrices mock-up

Welcome! You've probably come to this page via the post that I placed on Google Answers back in 2003.

In that page, a user of the site had asked for a sample of the questions used in the psychometric test called Raven's Progressive Matrices. The test was designed by Dr John Raven back in the 1930s; at the time of writing, the official questions are the copyright of Harcourt Assessment, Inc.

To the left is a mock-up of the sort of question used in the test—clicking on the image will take you to a larger version. The items require the candidate work out the missing piece in a grid (or matrix). To do this, it is necessary to identify the one or more patterns that repeat themselves throughout the matrix. In the example shown:

• All the images are triangles. We can infer that the answer must also consist of one more or more triangles, ruling out option 4.
• In each row and column, the triangles in one box are grey, in another white, and in another black. Examining the final row and column, we find that the triangles in the solution must therefore be white. This leaves us with options 1 or 5.
• Also, in each row and column, one box contains a single triangle, another two triangles, and the other three triangles.
• Thus the solution is 5: two white triangles.

This is a relatively simple example, but illustrates the principles behind the Raven's Progressive Matrices. In some items, the rules are more complicated.

The test is often used as a supposedly culture-fair test of abstract reasoning. Someone taking the test need not grapple with unfamiliar language or with objects that are common to a particular environment. Instead, they must discover the rules behind the arrangement of simple geometric figures—and use these to predict the figure that is needed to complete the pattern.