[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Relational complexity influences analogical reasoning ability

Leonard et al., 2023, iScience — Cognitive Science

Patterns: [Relationships](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/relationships)

## In short

Reasoning operates on relationships between relationships (analogy).

## What they found (results)

Humans performed analogical (relation-between-relations) discriminations with minimal instruction, but accuracy declined as relational complexity rose, correlating with fluid intelligence.

## What they set out to do (purpose)

To develop a nonverbal, cross-species-comparable task testing how relational complexity affects analogical reasoning.

## In more detail

Analogical reasoning is the mapping of relations between relations, and the cognitive cost of relating scales with how many relations must be bound together. Purpose: To develop a nonverbal, cross-species-comparable task testing how relational complexity affects analogical reasoning. Finding: Humans performed analogical (relation-between-relations) discriminations with minimal instruction, but accuracy declined as relational complexity rose, correlating with fluid intelligence. [Added 2026-07-30 as new evidence beyond the original 109; DSRP structural basis: R axiom (Emergence from relationships): analogy operates on relations themselves; extends the existing Ferry infant relational-concepts entry.]

## Abstract

Human language without analogy is like a zebra without stripes. The ability to understand analogies, or to engage in relational reasoning, has been argued to be an important distinction between the cognitive abilities of human and non-human animals. Current studies have failed to robustly show that animals can perform more complex, relational discriminations, in part because such tests rely on linguistic or symbolic experiences, and therefore are not suitable for evaluating analogical reasoning in animals. We report on a methodological approach allowing for direct comparisons of analogical reasoning ability across species. We show that human participants spontaneously make analogical discriminations with minimal verbal instructions, and that the ability to reason analogically is affected by analogical complexity. Furthermore, performance on our task correlated with participants' fluid intelligence scores. These results show the nuance of analogical reasoning abilities by humans, and provide a means of robustly comparing this capacity across species.

These researchers were not testing DSRP. The finding is theirs; the correspondence to DSRP is drawn by this site.

[Source](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.106392)