Aspirants willing to join India Armed Forces as an officer apply for it through different types of entries but one thing that all these entries have in common is Service Selection Board (SSB) interview process, in SSB interview a candidate’s skills are tested intellectually, physically, psychologically and through group activities. Under psychological test, four tests are conducted:

• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT )
• Word Association Test (WAT)
• Situation Reaction Test (SRT)
• Self-Description Test (SD)

In this article, we will discuss about Thematic Apperception Test in SSB.

Thematic Apperception Test in SSB:

Technically Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is a projective psychological test. Proponents of this technique assert that a person’s responses reveal underlying motives, concerns, and the way they see the social world through the stories they make up about ambiguous pictures of people.

What is Thematic Apperception Test in SSB

Thematic Apperception Test in SSB consists of set of ambiguous pictures that will be shown to the candidate, while looking on these pictures candidates must create a theme like a story which requires a hero and a challenge, how the hero will overcome the crisis and succeed.

In TAT a candidate will be asked to write a story from his own based on the images shown. A candidate shouldn’t just use his memory blocks and start preparing a story, he/she needs to see that every third or fourth line there is different meanings are coming, try interpretation and analyze those meaning as third person because that meaning shows candidate’s state of mind.

Tips on Thematic Apperception Test in SSB:

• Consider these points while attempting TAT
• What has led up to the situation.
• What the characters are feeling and thinking.
• What is happening at the moment.
• What is the final outcome of the story.

Scoring systems of Thematic Apperception Test (TAT):

The TAT was developed during the 1930s by the American psychologist Henry A. Murray and lay psychoanalyst Christiana D. Morgan at the Harvard Clinic at Harvard University.

• Murray developed a scoring system for Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), his scoring were based on intensity, frequency, duration, and importance to the plot/story. A story teller has to understand the need and presses of the story.
• Defense Mechanisms Manual DMM method is also used as a scoring system for Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), it assesses three defense mechanisms: denial (least mature), projection (intermediate), and identification (most mature). A person’s thoughts/feelings are projected in stories involved.
• Social Cognition and Object Relations SCOR scale is also one of the methods that’s been used as a scoring system for Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), it assesses four different dimensions of object relations: Complexity of Representations of People, Affect-Tone of Relationship Paradigms, Capacity for Emotional Investment in Relationships and Moral Standards, and Understanding of Social Causality.

Note: Generally assessors rely on their clinical intuition to come to conclusions about storytellers in Thematic Apperception Test in SSB.

Characteristics of the Story in Thematic Apperception Test in SSB:

• Each story must have a chief character (Hero), it will be wise to use officer like qualities (OLQs) when creating the personality traits of the character.
• Choose the age and profession of the main lead of your story very carefully. The age should be exactly what is evident from the picture. And choose the profession according to the age.
• Avoid superficial base for the story, the practical a story sounds the positive will be the impression on assessors.
• Always give the story a successful ending.
• Keep a clean and calm thought process while writing story.
• Avoid tough and negative language, keep it understandable and less technical.
• Keep a keen eye when looking at picture, read every small detail.

Examples of Thematic Apperception Test in SSB:

Below giver are some sample pictures for Thematic Apperception Test in SSB

A candidate must not confuse between Thematic Apperception Test in SSB with Picture Perception and Discussion Test in SSB screening.