How the Harver Spatial Ability test works
At the top of the screen is the example: a figure cut into pieces. Below it sit whole shapes, each with a tick box, and a Next button. A counter shows your place out of 30 and a countdown runs in the corner. You tick the two shapes that the example’s pieces would form, then press Next.
Harver says Spatial Ability measures how well you can visualise and manipulate shapes, and links it to seeing how individual parts make a whole. Your score depends on correct answers and is compared with a norm group.
How to pick the two matching shapes
Work by elimination:
- Count the pieces in the example. A shape cut into a different number of parts cannot match.
- Judge each piece’s size against the whole: a half, a quarter, a thin sliver.
- Check the kind of edge. A straight cut and a curved cut are not interchangeable.
- Turn the pieces in your head. A matching shape may be drawn turned round.
- Rule out the misfits rather than hunting for the two answers. Each check on piece count or edge type is quick.
Worked example
The example shows three pieces: one half-circle and two quarter-circles. The six shapes are circles divided by lines. A has one line across the middle and a second from the centre to the edge at a right angle to it. B is A turned a quarter turn. C has two lines crossing at right angles at the centre. D has one line across the middle only. E has three lines from the centre, evenly spaced. F has a line across the middle and a line from the centre at 45 degrees to it.
A splits into a half and two quarters, so it matches, and so does B, which is the same shape turned. C makes four quarters, D two halves and E three thirds. F also makes three pieces, but they are a half, an eighth and three eighths. The answer is A and B.
Tips for the real Spatial Ability test
- Make sure both ticks are right before pressing Next. Half an answer may earn nothing.
- Use a larger screen if you can. The cut lines are thin, and on a phone the shapes shrink into a grid.
- When two shapes both look right, compare piece sizes rather than overall look.
- Budget under 20 seconds an item. Thirty items in a little over 9 minutes leaves no time to linger.
Practise Harver Components on CogniPrep
Our version has 30 items on a 10-minute clock. Each shows the pieces and six whole shapes: select two and press Next, and an item only counts if both picks are right. Pieces can turn but never flip. Your score is the number of items right out of 30. The 30 items follow Harver’s screen; the 10 minutes is our estimate from it.