Concrete Reasoning Test (Pierre Goguelin)

Concrete reasoning refers to the ability to interpret, understand, and process literal information. In other words, it is a type of reasoning focused on concrete experiences, and physical elements that the individual can see, hear or feel.

In this sense, it can be described as the opposite of abstract reasoning, which refers to the ability to think in philosophical terms and make assumptions or generalizations based on the information available.

This test was created by Pierre Goguelin, a Professor of work psychology, whose main area of interest is Adult Continuing Education. It is designed to assess the test-takers’ ability to ignore any prior knowledge or symbolic representations in order to interpret the information in a direct and concrete manner. They are expected to analyze the data presented with precision rather than trying to creatively infer or deduct subliminal information.

Instructions:

This test consists of 8 questions. For each, you will be presented with a set of closed boxes and information about their content. You know that each box has something unique inside, but you do not know what each of the boxes contains.  

Your goal is to match the contents and the boxes by interpreting the concrete data provided. 

Use the drop-down menu under each box to select the item that you believe it contains.

Example:

You have three boxes: box 1, box 2, and box 3. One contains a vase, another contains a lamp and another contains a pillow, but you do not know which object is in each box.

Hints:

1. If you remove boxes 1 and 3, the remaining one has the pillow.
2. If you remove box 3, the remaining two contain the pillow and the vase.

Following the first hint, it becomes clear that box 2 has the pillow since it is the only one remaining after removing the other two. As such, now you are only left with boxes 1 and 3 and with the vase and the lamp.

Hint number two lets you know that the pillow and the vase are either in box 1 or box 2. Since you already know that the pillow is in box 2, it follows that box 1 contains the vase. Therefore, the only object left is the lamp which can only go in box 3.

In a concrete reasoning test, the information provided must be interpreted literally, without assumptions. In this case, it means that you must focus on assigning an object to each box based solely on the data provided. For example, the size or weight of both the boxes and the objects are irrelevant in this situation. 

Disclaimer:

This test is designed as an entertaining and educational tool. The results do not constitute a psychological or psychiatric evaluation of any kind and may not offer an accurate portrait of the mental fitness of the test taker. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the results and these should not be used as an indicator of the capacities of the individual for a specific purpose.

Responses may be recorded and used for research purposes or to be otherwise distributed. All responses are recorded anonymously.