A row of figures changes by one consistent rule. Find the rule, pick what comes next. No numbers, no words, no cultural loading — which is exactly why employers like it.
Free to start. Every item is generated fresh, marked with a full worked solution, and ranked on a 1–9 stanine band that recalibrates as more candidates practise.
5
figure families
3 min
timed run
±1
adaptive level
What it measures
Inductive reasoning measures rule discovery on unfamiliar material: how quickly you can isolate what is changing across a sequence and, just as importantly, what is staying put as a decoy. It is the format employers reach for when they want a signal that does not depend on schooling or first language.
The format
Where marks are lost
Locking onto the first attribute that moves. Most rows contain a second attribute that also changes, and the distractors are built by applying the right rule to the wrong attribute. Before you answer, check the option you chose against every element in the figure, not just the one that caught your eye.
Why practise here
All five families in rotation — grid, wheel, nested, arrow and dice — so you do not train on one shape and meet another
Each item is built from an explicit rule set, then the explanation names the rule in words
Distractors are generated by applying a plausible wrong rule, the same way real inductive items are constructed
Adaptive difficulty so you spend your time at the edge of what you can do
A stanine band that tells you where the rule-finding speed sits relative to other candidates
Where you will meet it
Hiring stages where this format is commonly used. Persona Prep is not affiliated with SHL and does not reproduce their questions — we build practice in the same format, from our own generators.
With Persona Prep Pro
One subscription covers the whole assessment library, not just this exercise — because almost nobody is invited to sit only one module.
The full aptitude library
SHL Verify, Aon cut-e, Hogan and Saville formats — numerical, verbal, inductive, deductive, mechanical, checking and the interactive modules.
A rank, not just a score
Every run is placed on a 1–9 stanine band that recalibrates as the candidate pool grows, so you know your position.
A course per exercise
What it measures, the trap that costs marks, and worked items from every format — then the exercise itself.
Unlimited fresh items
Everything is generated, so you never run out and never memorise a bank.
Written + voice AI coach
Reads your results across exercises and tells you which two to fix first.
Personality practice too
SHL OPQ32, Hogan HPI/HDS/MVPI, Saville Wave, ADEPT-15 and 16PF, with full profile reports.
Inductive reasoning is rule discovery from examples. You are shown a sequence of abstract figures that changes by one consistent rule and asked what comes next. Because it uses no words or numbers, it is used where employers want a fair signal across languages and educational backgrounds.
Inductive tests give you examples and ask you to find the rule. Deductive tests give you the rules and ask you to apply them to reach a forced conclusion. SHL's inductive test is the former; the Aon cut-e gap challenge is the latter.
Isolate one attribute at a time — rotation, count, position, fill, reflection — and check it across the whole row before moving on. The usual failure is locking onto the first thing that moves and missing a second attribute that also changes; the wrong options are built precisely from that mistake.
Five families rotate through every run: grids, wheels, nested shapes, arrows and dice. Each is generated from an explicit rule set, and the explanation names the rule in words after you answer.
SHL
Verify Numerical Reasoning
Timed data interpretation in the Verify format: a table or chart, one question, four options, and a clock that does not wait. Every item here is generated fresh and marked with a full worked solution.
SHL
Verify Verbal Reasoning
A short business passage, a statement, and three buttons: True, False, Cannot say. The whole difficulty of this format lives in the third one.
Saville Assessment
Swift Aptitude
Saville's numerical formats hide the arithmetic inside a shape: a pyramid, a grid, a network of nodes, a run of figures. Find the rule and the number falls out.
Playable sample questions, worked solutions, instant feedback.