How the Harver Logical Reasoning test works
Logical Reasoning is one of five subtests in Harver’s NOA Cognitive Ability module, alongside verbal reasoning, perceptual speed, number sequences and spatial ability. The employer chooses which ones you sit, so you may get one subtest or several. In this one, every item is a set of figures in which all but one follow a hidden rule, and you pick the exception.
The subtest is timed, with the time left shown on screen. Harver does not publish the number of items or the clock for Logical Reasoning, only that a subtest takes 5 to 15 minutes. Your result is based on how many items you get right, then compared with a norm group and shown on a 0 to 100% scale where 50% is average.
How to find the odd figure out
Run the same checks on every item:
- Take two figures and say what they share: number of sides, dots or lines, shading, size, orientation, or where a small detail sits.
- Test that property on the rest. If exactly one figure breaks it, that is your answer.
- If two or more figures break it, the property is a decoy. Drop it and try the next one.
- Count rather than glance whenever the property is a number. Sides, corners, dots and line crossings are easy to misjudge at a glance.
- When no single feature splits one figure off, look for a link between two features, such as dots matching sides.
Worked example
Five figures: a triangle with 3 dots inside, a square with 4 dots, a pentagon with 5 dots, a hexagon with 7 dots and an octagon with 8 dots. The triangle and the hexagon are shaded grey; the other three are white.
Shading cannot be the rule, because it splits the set two against three. Shape cannot be it either, since every figure is a different shape. Now count: in four figures the number of dots equals the number of sides. The hexagon has 6 sides and 7 dots, so the hexagon is the odd one out.
Tips for the real Logical Reasoning test
- Work through the instruction screens and any practice items slowly. Harver builds chances to practise into its cognitive tests.
- Finish the subtest in one sitting. If you log out halfway through a section, it is not saved and you start it again.
- Do not stall on one item. Your score counts correct answers, so a reasoned guess is worth more than a blank.
- Compare figures on the biggest screen you have. Small details are easier to see on a laptop than a phone.
Practise Harver Logical Reasoning on CogniPrep
Our version gives you 30 items on one 7-minute clock, rising from easy to hard. Each shows five figures: select the odd one out and press Next. There is no Skip and no going back, and a wrong answer costs nothing. Your score is the number right out of 30. The item count and clock are ours, because Harver does not publish its own.