This study examined differences in strategic processing between individuals with high and low relational reasoning ability. Participants were separated into high and low ability groups based on their performance on a relational reasoning test. Four case studies were selected, one male and one female from each group. The study found that individuals with low ability tended to correctly encode problems but then guess incorrectly without attempting inferences about patterns. When they did infer, it was often incorrect. In contrast, those with high ability either correctly inferred patterns on the first attempt or reviewed previous steps until finding the right answer. In general, low ability participants were more likely to guess or make incorrect inferences without revisiting problems, while high ability participants solved problems correctly on the first try or by re