One of the most popular, and perhaps most dreaded, type of psychometric test is the logical reasoning test. These screening questions won’t ask you for formulas or equations. You’ll have to rely solely on your own ingenuity to solve these problems.
You’ll need a great deal of concentration to succeed on a logic test. Logic tests are really designed to assess your intelligence. Similar to I.Q. tests in design, these aptitude assessments test your problem-solving skills, your critical thinking skills, and your creativity.
Below, we’ll explain a little bit more about the logic test questions you can expect on logic pre-employment exams and how you should approach them. We’ll also discuss some of our best tips for logic tests, so make sure to take notes! When you’re done, click over to the second tab and try your hand at our logical reasoning sample questions.
What Is a Logical Reasoning Test?
A logical reasoning test, as opposed to a numerical or verbal reasoning test, requires solely your reasoning ability. While you will have to know how to read, you won’t need to know any grammar, and you certainly won’t need to know how to multiply numbers.
Based on deductive and inductive reasoning, logical thinking questions will take one of two forms. Either you’ll be presented with a series of shapes and asked about the patterns they make, or you’ll be given a series of statements and asked to state what you know to be certain. We’ll go through both of these types of questions.
Why Do I Need to Take Logical Reasoning Tests?
Employers want to know, first and foremost, that you know how to analyze information and learn new skills quickly. These so-called “soft skills” are really far more important to a company than you might imagine, and they’re nearly impossible to really measure in an interview.
Logical questions help employers to see how well applicants recognize patterns, overcome adversity, and concentrate for extended periods of time. The skills you’ll need to pass a logical reasoning test are the same ones that will help you anticipate pitfalls, develop winning strategies, and start new initiatives.
Logical aptitude tests are designed, very simply, to test for intelligence. In fact, you’ll probably see a lot of the same questions on an I.Q. test. As it turns out, intelligence and success are very closely linked. The more intelligent someone is, the more quickly he learns and masters new skills, the better he remembers information told to him, and the more easily he overcomes problems.
How to Answer Logical Reasoning Questions:
Every logical reasoning question is different, and while you should be able to recognize patterns after a while, there are no shortcuts or one-size-fits-all responses. Here we have a few principles you should keep in mind. However, if you find that you’re still struggling with logic, then make sure to check out the free logic examples we have printed in our questions tab.
- Identify a Major Pattern: Whenever dealing with diagrams, you’ll want to focus on patterns. The series or matrix will be assembled of various sequences, and it’s your job to figure out what they are. Once you’ve identified a major pattern, you’ll want to see if you can also identify a minor pattern. Typically, series and matrices use at least two different patterns.
- And/Or, If–>Then: When answering verbal reasoning questions, make sure to take note of the structure of the sentence. The structure of the sentence will largely determine the meaning.
For example, if Jenny’s coat is both long and blue, we can logically assume that any red or green coats we may find do not belong to Jenny. On the other hand, if Jenny’s coat is either long or blue, we have a different set of criteria.
Logic also makes use of if–>then statements. For example, “If Jenny buys a new coat, she’ll buy one that is long and blue.” In that case, we know that Jenny can only buy a long, blue coat if, in fact, she buys a new coat. If her brother buys a coat for her, she won’t have bought a long, blue coat. These facts may seem redundant if you’ve never studied logic before, but they become quite significant when programming computers, for instance.
Diagrammatic Abstract Reasoning
This non-verbal form of logical reasoning usually involves series or matrices made up of shapes or figures arranged in a certain pattern.
To solve these questions, you’re going to use inductive reasoning. Your goal as the job-seeker is to identify the pattern and complete the task. Here are the four different kinds of tasks you can expect on non-verbal logic test questions.
In a series question, you’ll be shown 4-6 pictures and asked to choose the next figure in the series from several choices. You might also find that one of the figures in the middle of the series has been left out, and you’ll have to choose which picture best completes the pattern.
Matrices are very similar to series except they extend in two directions. While a series only goes from left to right, a matrix has patterns both horizontally and vertically. Not only will you have to make sure that the figure you choose completes the pattern in its row, but you’ll also have to check to see whether it agrees with the figures above and below it.
- Odd One Out
Sometimes you’ll be given a set of figures and asked to identify the outlier. While the figures won’t be lined up in a series, they will have something in common. It will be your job determine which characteristics are relevant and to group the pictures based on these similarities.
- A/B Groups
In A/B grouping questions, you’ll be given two groups of figures and one figure on its own. You’ll have to decide why the figures were grouped the way they were. You’ll then have to place the single figure in one of the two groups.
Verbal Logical Reasoning
While diagrammatic questions require inductive reasoning, verbal questions call for deductive reasoning. On a verbal question, you’ll be given a series of statements, premises, said to be true, and you’ll have to determine whether the conclusion necessarily follows from those statements.
- A categorical syllogism gives a general statement as well as a specific case regarding that category. The conclusion will relate the specific case back to the larger rule.
- All men are mortal.
- Socrates is a man.
- Therefore, Socrates is mortal
- A conditional syllogism basically states that if a–>b and if b–>c, then a—>c must be true as well. Take the following example:
- If it rains, the school will cancel the picnic.
- If the school cancels the picnic, the children will watch a film instead.
- Therefore, if it rains, the children will watch a film.
- A disjunctive syllogism shows that if a is true, then b must be false.
- Either I will go swimming or hiking.
- I will go swimming.
- I will not go hiking.
Other deductive questions will ask you to put a set of people or items in order based on certain descriptions. For instance, they might tell you that “Sam is not last,” or that “Jaimie is before Paul,” but it will be up to you to figure out exactly where they are in line.
Logical Reasoning Test Tips:
Make sure you read our top tips for logical aptitude tests before heading out to the assessment center.
- Write Everything Down: Logic questions are particularly tricky. Instead of trying to keep everything straight in your head, try to write down the details on a piece of paper. Diagrams can be especially helpful when recording important facts.
- Don’t Make Assumptions: It’s crucial that you take the statements given to you at face value. While you may know more about the topic, if you bring in outside information, you’re probably going to miss the point. Make sure you focus solely on the conditions given to you and ignore extraneous details and thoughts.
For example, if the grass is wet, we can assume it probably rained. Logically, though, we can’t state for certain that it rained if we have no proof. It could have been the gardener who left the sprinklers on overnight.
- Focus on Truth Values: Make sure you know the difference between words like some, many, and all or words like sometimes, always, and never. These qualifying words can completely change the truth value of a statement.
- Pay Attention to All Details: When completing diagrammatic tests, be very careful to pay attention to all relevant details. A pattern may be based on multiple dots and lines, and if you rush, you’ll miss subtle aspects of the pattern.
Final Thoughts on Logical Questioning:
While most of us study science and history in school, very few of us ever study formal logic. In fact, unless you went to graduate school for law, engineering, philosophy, or abstract mathematics, logic as a concept in and of itself is probably pretty foreign to you.
If this is the case, then don’t fret. Logic is, not coincidentally, fairly logical. As long as you’re familiar with some of the basic fundamentals, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Click over to the second tab to prepare with some of our online practice questions. Then read the answer explanations to see whether or not your reasoning was on track.