Progressive Matrices: An Experimental, Developmental, Nonfactorial Analysis

Abstract

The Coloured Progressive Matrices Test (CPM), a measure of inductive reasoning ability, has been reported to correlate .91 with WISC Full Scale IQ. Each item of the CPM Test displays a pattern with a section missing; below it are six response alternatives, one of which would correctly complete the pattern. New and presumably better self-instructional sequences were used with both first- and third-grade Ss. Trained Ss did no better than controls on a CPM posttest. The test, however, appeared to confound “pure” inductive ability with ability to imagine how a response alternative would look if inserted into the pattern. A new test format was developed to eliminate the role of the latter by having S judge the correctness of already completed patterns. Dramatic increases in test scores were found. Apparently the advantage of two years' mental growth that third-graders have over first-graders on the conventionally administered CPM derives in large part from improved power of imagining how a distractor would look in a new location, rather than of inductive reasoning ability. With the new test format Ss were significantly better able to accept correctly completed than to reject incorrectly completed matrices. Among first-graders, this tendency was significantly stronger for trained than for control Ss.

The Learning and Transfer of Double-Classification Skills by First Graders

“…Perhaps an S, otherwise capable of operationally solving double-classification problems, is perceptually confused on CPM items by the large number of response alternatives and by the similarity of matrix elements for which he has no ready verbal labels. This interpretation gains support from a previous demonstration that perceptual confusion can depress scores on CPM (Jacobs & Vandeventer 1968). …”

“…We found, as did Inhelder and Piaget, that these were the most difficult alternatives to reject. As in an earlier study (Jacobs & Vandeventer 1968), there was a general response set to accept a matrix whether or not it was correctly completed. In spite of the difficulty of the alternatives used and the presence of the response set, experimental Ss outperformed control Ss in rejecting wrong answers.…”

“…The particular wrong alternative used for a given item was that selected most frequently on the posttest. In the case of the Raven items the particular wrong alternatives chosen in this way were the same as those selected most frequently by first-graders in an earlier study (Jacobs & Vandeventer 1968). …”

“…Each S was individually tested on the two forms of the direct test which had served as his pretest and on the two transfer tests. The transfer tests were also administered in a Right-Wrong format (Jacobs & Vandeventer 1968). In this format each item consisted of a matrix already completed with one of the response alternatives.…”

“…Two previous studies attempted to increase the scores of first-grade children on Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, a test that includes many double-classification items. The rigorously prescribed training procedures used resulted in a temporary itemspecific effect (Jacobs 1966) and a heightened response set (Jacobs & Vandeventer 1968). The insights gained in these studies suggested that more general and lasting improvement in the skill of handling doubleclassification problems could be obtained by altering certain features both of the training and of the criterion.…”