Designed and first published in 1938 by John C. Raven (1902-1970). Over the years, it has been subjected to a number of revisions. In essence, it is a test designed to measure inductive reasoning by analogy about abstract geometrical patterns from the age of six years onward. It consists of 60 abstract patterns, going from the very simple to the very complex, each one having a part missing. The task is to find the missing part from a set of 6 to 8 alternatives. As a measure of non-verbal (i.e., fluid) intelligence uncontaminated by language, it has been portrayed as a ‘culture fair’ test. Evidence from cross-cultural research, however, would suggest otherwise. Evidence would also indicate that the test is free from the influence of language abilities. For example, correlations have been reported of .33 to .48 and .25 to .32 between RPM and verbal and vocabulary tests, respectively.
See Abstract reasoning, Analogical reasoning, Fluid intelligence, Flynn effect, Induction (philosophy), Intelligence, Reasoning (psychology)