Abstract
Summary. This study reports the development of a sentence preference test designed to contrast tendencies to abstract, generalise and particularise in thinking. Certain terms carry both general and abstract meanings. Using such words in sentences bringing out these differing meanings provides an indication of readiness to use abstractions and generalisations. A variety of samples of secondary school pupils in the age range 11+ to 16 years were used to provide evidence of reliability and validity, and also to trace changes with age of responses to the sentences. The results confirm earlier work with a word test which showed that tendencies both to generalise and abstract increase during adolescence.The potentialities of the technique are discussed in relation to language usage and comprehension and to higher level thinking processes required during secondary school and afterwards in higher education.
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