PI cognitive assessment practice

What this page is for

This is practice for the PI Cognitive Assessment in the general sense, not a copy of it. IQ Octopus is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Predictive Index. We do not reproduce its questions. The Predictive Index describes the standard version as a 50-question, 12-minute timed test covering simple math, basic logic and language comprehension, scored by the number answered correctly in the time allowed, with Verbal, Numeric and Abstract Reasoning subscores (Predictive Index: Cognitive Assessment). The full guide is the PI Cognitive Assessment, explained. Use this page to sharpen the reasoning itself.

The ten questions

The set is balanced between numbers and figures, which suits anyone preparing for a mixed reasoning test. It runs from easy to hard:

• Number series, three questions. Find the rule behind a list and pick the next number.
• Figure analogies, three questions. A is to B as C is to which tile?
• Shape sequences, two questions. Spot the step-by-step change and continue it.
• 3x3 matrices, two questions. Find the rules across rows and columns and fill the gap.

Analogies: the format to master here

Figure analogies get extra weight in this set, so they get extra space here. Each one shows a figure A, a changed version B, and a new figure C. You choose the tile that changes C exactly as A changed into B. The changes the engine uses are a turn of the whole figure, a left-right or top-bottom flip, a new fill on the main shape, a size change, a small shape added at a spot on the edge, the small shapes removed, the small shapes moved around the edge, the main shape turning on its own, and the main and small shapes swapping forms.

A dependable method:

1. List A in parts: main shape, size, fill, direction, and each small shape with its position.
2. List B the same way. Every difference is a change you must carry over.
3. To tell a turn from a flip, follow the small shapes. A left-right flip keeps top and bottom where they are; a half turn swaps them.
4. Apply each change to C in order, then find the tile that matches your result.

Hard analogies combine two changes. Expect wrong options that apply only one of them, or apply a turn in the wrong direction. The figure analogy guide has more worked examples.

Numbers and shapes, briefly

For number series, write the gaps between neighbors first. Equal gaps: add again. Gaps growing by a fixed step: extend them. Fast growth: try doubling or tripling, with a constant added. Zigzag gaps: read every other number. For shape sequences, compare the first two tiles, name each change, and confirm on the next pair. For matrices, read row one, confirm on row two, check the columns, and describe the missing tile in words before looking at the options.

Working against the clock

Timed hiring tests are built so that time is part of the challenge. Here, every question has its own 30-second ring, and when it empties the question is recorded as unanswered and the next one appears. That structure is good practice for one specific skill: letting go. On a real timed test, a hard item you abandon after a fair try costs you one point; a hard item you refuse to abandon can cost you several easier ones after it.

Two habits help. Start every question with the format's first move (gaps, first pair, row one) so you are never staring blankly. And when you are down to two options, compare them with each other rather than with the stem; the single difference between them is usually the deciding rule.

Why cognitive tests show up in hiring

Cognitive tests aim at general reasoning, the thread Charles Spearman described in 1904 as a general factor, g, running through performance on all kinds of mental tests (Wikipedia: g factor). Across large groups, general mental ability relates to job performance: a meta-analysis of 85 years of research estimated that relationship at 0.51 (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). That is a trend across many people and not a prediction about you, and our practice score makes no prediction about any employer test.

Your practice score

The result shows how many of the ten you answered correctly and a plain description of that practice performance. It is not a PI score and not an IQ. Read it by format: three number series, three analogies, two sequences, two matrices. If your misses cluster, that is your practice list. Each format has fifty worked examples in the puzzle library.

Does practice help?

Yes. Across many studies, taking a cognitive ability test again raised scores by about a quarter of a standard deviation on average, roughly 4 IQ points, and more when the same form was used (Hausknecht et al., 2007). You cannot rehearse on the real test, but practicing the formats and the pace beforehand captures the fair part of that gain.

More practice

The CCAT practice test and the cognitive ability test use similar mixes. If you want an estimate of your general reasoning for your own interest, the full IQ Octopus test reports an estimated IQ with a confidence range. It is a personal estimate and cannot be used for employment screening.