Recognising Distractors

Every AR question contains distractors — features that change between boxes but are not part of the rule. Distractors exist for one purpose: to waste your time. If you spend seconds analysing a feature that turns out to be irrelevant, you have lost time you cannot recover at 14 seconds per question. This lesson teaches you to identify and dismiss distractors efficiently.

---

What Is a Distractor?

A distractor is any visual feature that:

• Varies between boxes in a set (it is not constant)
• Does not follow a discernible pattern
• Is not related to the rule that defines the set

The Logic of Distractors

The rule is the feature that is consistent across all boxes. Distractors are the features that are inconsistent. This is the fundamental distinction:

Consistent feature = potential rule. Inconsistent feature = distractor. Ignore it.

---

Common Distractor Categories

Test designers use every SCANS category as potential distractors:

Distractor category	Example	What you might waste time on
Shape type	Different shapes in each box (circles in one, squares in another)	Trying to find a shape-type pattern that does not exist
Colour/shading	Random mix of black, white, grey shapes	Looking for a colour ratio or conditional colour rule
Size	Random large and small shapes	Searching for a size pattern or size-colour link
Number	Different numbers of shapes per box (2, 5, 3, 4, 1, 6)	Trying to find a number rule or odd/even pattern
Position	Shapes in different positions in each box	Looking for positional or arrangement patterns
Orientation	Shapes rotated to different angles	Searching for rotation patterns

---

How Distractors Are Designed

Test designers construct distractors with deliberate intent to mislead. Common strategies include:

Strategy 1: The "Almost-Pattern"

A feature that looks like it could be a pattern but breaks down in one or two boxes.

Example: Boxes 1-4 of Set A all have a circle, but Boxes 5 and 6 do not. A circle is NOT the rule — it is a coincidental near-pattern. The real rule might be about the total number of shapes being even (which also holds for Boxes 5 and 6).

Strategy 2: The "Salient Feature"

A visually striking feature that grabs attention but is irrelevant.

Example: Every box contains one very large, prominently black shape. Your eye is drawn to it immediately. But the actual rule is about the total number of small shapes (always 3). The large black shape is a deliberate attention-grabber.

Strategy 3: The "Complexity Fog"

Adding many shapes to each box so the sheer visual complexity makes it hard to focus.

Example: Each box has 6-8 shapes of various types, sizes, and colours. The rule is simply "total number of sides is always 20" — but the visual noise of 8 shapes makes counting difficult.

---

The Distractor Identification Process

Step 1: Scan for Consistency

As you apply SCANS, you are looking for what stays the same across all boxes. If a feature changes randomly, it is a distractor. Move on immediately.

Step 2: The "Box 1 to Box 2" Test

Compare the first two boxes:

• What is the same between them?
• What is different?

Then check Box 3: does the "same" feature hold? If yes, you have a candidate rule. The "different" features are likely distractors.

Step 3: The "All Boxes" Verification

Any candidate rule must hold for all 6 boxes. Check each one. If it fails even once, it is not the rule (or there is a conditional element — see the previous lesson).

---

Worked Example: Multiple Distractors

Set A:

• Box 1: Two large black circles, one small white triangle, one medium grey square (4 shapes)
• Box 2: One small white hexagon, three large black pentagons (4 shapes)
• Box 3: One medium grey arrow, one large black diamond, one small white circle, one large black triangle (4 shapes)
• Box 4: Two small white squares, one medium grey hexagon, one large black circle (4 shapes)
• Box 5: One large black pentagon, one small white rectangle, two medium grey circles (4 shapes)
• Box 6: Three small white triangles, one large black hexagon (4 shapes)

Applying SCANS:

S (Shape): Box 1 has circles, triangles, squares. Box 2 has hexagons, pentagons. Box 3 has arrows, diamonds, circles, triangles. No consistent shape type. → Distractor

C (Colour): Box 1 has black, white, grey. Box 2 has white, black. Box 3 has grey, black, white. Mix of colours in every box but no consistent ratio. → Distractor

A (Arrangement): Shapes are in different positions across boxes. No fixed position, no symmetry pattern. → Distractor

N (Number): Box 1: 4 shapes. Box 2: 4 shapes. Box 3: 4 shapes. Box 4: 4 shapes. Box 5: 4 shapes. Box 6: 4 shapes. Consistent! → Potential rule

S (Size): Mix of large, medium, small in most boxes. No consistent pattern. → Distractor

Rule: Every box contains exactly 4 shapes. Shape type, colour, size, and position are all distractors.