Nonverbal - Figure and Spatial Reasoning
The Nonverbal battery uses only figures and shapes, so it measures abstract and spatial reasoning without relying on words or numbers. Its three item types are Figure Matrices, Paper Folding, and Figure Classification. Success comes from naming the visual rule precisely-rotation, reflection, addition, subtraction, shading, size, or position-and checking it against every part of the figure.
Figure Matrices
A grid contains figures that change by a rule across rows and down columns. Identify the rule in the completed row or column, then apply it to the row or column with the missing cell. Rules can combine, such as “rotate 90° clockwise and add one dot.” If the top row shows a black triangle pointing up, then the same triangle pointing right, the rule is a 90° clockwise rotation; the bottom row must use the same rotation, not a reflection.
Paper Folding
A sheet is folded, holes are punched, and you choose the unfolded pattern. Each fold creates a mirror line. A hole not on a fold line produces a matching hole reflected across that line; a hole on the fold line produces one hole, not two. With two folds, expect up to four holes, but overlapping holes reduce the count. Track the order of folds and unfold mentally in reverse.
Figure Classification
Three figures share a feature; choose the fourth that belongs. Possible features include number of sides, number of enclosed regions, symmetry, curvature, shading, and intersections. State the shared feature in words, then test each option. For example, if all three figures have exactly one line of symmetry, the answer must also have exactly one-not zero and not two.
Traps
The main errors are confusing rotation with reflection, forgetting that holes on a fold line do not duplicate, and choosing a figure that matches only one feature while violating another. In matrices, students often apply a row rule down a column or ignore a shading change. In classification, a salient but irrelevant feature, such as color, can distract from the structural rule. Check every element before selecting.