Analogical Reasoning Assessments In Intellectual Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic-Review

Analogical reasoning is defined as the ability to establish links between a known situation (i.e., source) and a new situation (i.e., the target) based on structural similarities (Gentner, 1983, 1989; Holyoak, 1984). This ability is impaired in individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) (APA, 2013; Curie et al., 2016 ; Greenspan & Woods, 2015). Despite a recent increase in research dedicated to analogical reasoning in atypical populations, there is a lack of consensus regarding its development in IDD and the availability of adapted tools to measure it in this population. Furthermore, tools used to assess analogical reasoning skills can also be used to measure other cognitive abilities, or estimate levels of non-verbal reasoning skills (e.g., Raven’s Matrices). The purpose is to provide an analysis of analogical reasoning assessment in IDD in a preregistered systematic-review conducted according to PRISMA methodology. Articles were selected on Scopus, PsycINFO and PubMed databases. Literature review led to identify three different approaches to the study of analogical reasoning: Raven-matrices like standardized approaches (e.g., Curie et al., 2016), standardized lists of semantic relations (e.g., Boehm Test of Basic Concepts) and analogies designed for experiments (e.g., A:B::C:D; scene analogy tests, etc.), and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. We also paid attention to the type of measure targeted in the studies (comprehension vs production approaches, behavioral experiment, eye-tracking). The results of this review could serve as a basis for new experimentations in the domain of analogical reasoning in IDD.