Reasoning by Analogy
Reasoning by Analogy items on NNAT3 Level D show a first pair of figures with a relationship, then a second figure and a blank. You select the option that makes the second pair follow the same relationship as the first. The exam uses this format to test relational abstraction: the answer depends on the transformation between figures, not on matching the same shapes.
Find the relation
- Check rotation, reflection, enlargement, shrinking, and color or shading inversion.
- Look for structural changes: a part added, removed, moved, or swapped with another part.
- Count changes: number of sides, dots, or lines may increase by a fixed amount.
- State the rule in one sentence, in the direction A → B. Then apply that same sentence to C.
Worked example
First pair: a small black circle beside a large white square becomes a large black circle beside a small white square. The relation swaps the sizes of the two shapes while keeping their colors and left-right order. Second pair starts with a small white triangle beside a large black diamond. Apply the same size swap: the triangle becomes large and white, the diamond becomes small and black, and the triangle stays on the same side. An option that enlarges the triangle but leaves the diamond large has applied only half the relation.
Traps
- Reversing the relation, so you transform B back into A instead of applying A → B to C.
- Matching the same shape or color rather than the same transformation.
- Ignoring one attribute, such as shading, while copying the rotation correctly.
- Treating a reflection as a rotation. A reflected figure has reversed handedness; a rotated one does not.
Write the rule before looking at the answer choices, then eliminate any option that breaks it.