Seeing Patterns: Using a Game-like Measure to Test Relational Reasoning in Young Children

Abstract

Relational reasoning, the ability to see meaningful patterns in information and discern relations among objects, ideas or situations, is a foundational ability associated with academic achievement in multiple domains. There are four established forms of this ability: analogous reasoning (similarity), anomalous reasoning (discrepancy), antithetical reasoning (opposition), and antinomous reasoning (exclusivity). However, the measurement and understanding of this ability in young children is limited. Specifically, there has been limited research encompassing all four forms especially in young children. In addition, there is a lack of measure appropriate for assessing this ability in young children. To address these gaps in literature, the Test of Relational Reasoning – Early Childhood (TORR-EC), a game-like measure assessing relational reasoning in young children, was developed and piloted among children ages 4-6. In a sample of 11 children, this study investigated young children’s ability to reason relationally, if there were any differences in age, and whether the TORR-EC required any modification. Descriptive and non-parametric analyses were conducted for this investigation. The results indicated that children, ages 4-6, were able to reason relationally, with some possibility for age differences. However, statistical analyses were not significant so this must be confirmed in a future study with a larger sample. In addition, results indicated that the TORR-EC is a promising measure for assessing relational reasoning in young children but requires modification before it can be widely used. Future steps include modification of the TORR-EC to enable relational reasoning to be assessed in ethnically, linguistically, socioeconomically, and geographically diverse populations. In addition, future research using the modified TORR-EC is of interest to gain more understanding of how relational reasoning develops.