Screening

Psychological,Group behaviour and communicating skills are tested in PPDT.Inter dynamic performances in total 3 tests (OIR,PP,DT) at the acceptable level, makes an aspirant to qualify the screening tests.

PPDT(Picture Perception and Discussion Test) is very important test.Fundamental aim of the PPDT is to see and evaluate the degree and quality of the perception and observation.

-Find the CLUE in the picture.Every picture has some CLUE which distinguish one picture from the another.-Frame a story using the CLUE.-It is not necessary to mark the mood positive (+ve) .Mark the natural reaction,even if it is negative(-ve).-Find out the ACTION(what is being done) in the picture.-Various ACTIONS can be :

Thinking(What) Discussing(What) Helping(Why,Whom) Attacking(Why,Whom)

Some of the common THEME for the Story are :-            

Clearing examination Arranging any Functions Rescue Operations Saving Somebody's Life Helping anybody  Accepting a Fault and overcoming or improving upon it Rescuing from fire Hospitalizing the victims Arranging blood to known or unknown

Ideas for Thematic Apperception Test Based on Picture

Scene of Factory or Workshopo Modification of Factoryo Quick Order Delivery o New Inventiono New design

Scene of Office Meeting/ Phone Callso Board of director

o Presenting new ideao Inventionso New techniqueso New education systemo Planning attack

 Scene of Fight/Running/Knife in hand/ Pistol in hand/Catching the Throato Yogao Karateo Commando attacko Learning martial arts

Scene of Defence Forces /Army Soldierso Patrollingo Planningo Attacko Destroying enemy targeto Destroying Amn dumpo Getting information of enemy

Scene of Vehicle Car/ Bikeo Car/Bike rallyo New design of an engineo Pollution free vehicleso Less competitiono Multi fuel design

Group of Girls/womeno Vocational training centero Cottage industrieso Handicraft industryo Health/hygiene trainingo SSB selection trainingo Modelingo Dramaticso Folk dancingo Family Planning

Scene of Boat/River/lakeo Boating competitiono New design of boato Racingo Rafting

Scene of Bridgeo Repair of bridgeo New designo Widening of bridgeo Bridge inauguration

Scene of Mountainso Mineral/Oil discovery

o Plantation/forestationo Tourism/archeologicalo Hiking, skiing, study of historical structure

Water/rivero Pollutiono Creating lakeo Reservoirso Tourist resorto Boatingo Flood controlo Diggingo Navigation/waterway

Lando New technology of agricultureo Drip irrigationo Digging canalo Creation Reservoir for watero Plantationo Windmill

People/Villagero Cottage industrieso Small scale industrieso Handicraft Industrieso Agricultural Industrieso Teaching new agricultural Methodo Education/Family planning/Child Marriage menace

Road/traffic/accidento Widen roado One- way traffico Bus facilitieso Street- lightso Encroachment removalo Zebra crossingo Traffic lightso Evacuation of hospital

Boys scouts/cycle/caro NSS Campo Flood reliefo Cycle rallyo Car rallyo Picnico Joggingo Peace marcho Blood donationo Rescue operation

Sitting in Officeo Planningo Researcho Relief operations i.e. flood, earthquake etc.

- See more at: http://www.ssbcrack.com/2013/08/ideas-for-thematic-apperception-test.html#sthash.xUmjGrit.dpuf

Wat

This test is again a very strong test for detection of psychological strength of candidates.In this test psychologist shows 60 words on the screen one after the another.Candidates are required to express the idea or thought that comes to their mind in a sentence.Each word will stay on the screen for 15 seconds and within that 15 seconds you are required to frame and record your response on the paper.So,this test will be for 15 minutes.(15 sec x 60 words )

Instructions :

This is test of imagination wherein you are free to give your responses the way they come to your mind.

In this test 60 words will be projected on the screen one after another. You are required to record your first idea or thought that comes to your mind on seeing

that particular word in a form of sentence. You are at liberty to use the words in your sentences or not to use them.Don't care for

grammatical errors. If no idea or thought comes to your mind,leave the corresponding space blank and

proceed further.

WAT is the test of your grasp,effective intelligence,quick reaction,measures your level of thought processes.Being the sub-conscious test and the test of your imagination,it also examines the span and depth of Ideas.

Kind of Sentences : The responses by the candidates generally fall into the following categories :-

1. Definition or Explanatory Response2. Observational Response3. Personal Response4. Factual Response5. Injection,Advices,Preaching or Commands6. Proverbs or Phrases7. Negatives8. Analysis or Evaluation

Try to make the Observational sentences as it brings out your observational thinking.Facts are acceptable but it should be rare facts as it reflects an additional efforts,interests shown by the individual.

Actual Explanation-WAT includes 60 words and all these 60 words are given from the four factors.The first word will be from Factor I i.e Intelligence,the second word from will be from Factor II i.e Social Adjustment,the third word will relate to Factor III i.e Leadership and finally the fourth word from Factor IV i.e Dynamism.This cycle keeps on repeating till 60 words are completed.

Some Example Words from each Factor :

1. Intelligence : Examine,Practice,Judgement,Arrange,Alert,Desire,Firm,Effort2. Social Adjustment : Team,Play,Relation,Assist,Company,Friend,Crowd,Sympathy3. Leadership :

Submit,Follow,Dependent,Reject,Safe,Control,Convincing,Alive,Responsible4. Dynamism : Listen,Aim,Clean,Behave,Advise,Flexible,Obey,Kind,Prayer,Duty

Tips :

Always try writing short sentences. Don't worry about handwriting or grammar. Try to write your own observations which you have realized in life, but in your own

words/way and it should not seem like bookish.For this you will have to practice a lot. Practice WAT from the slides under proper testing conditions and try to attempt all 60

words.Then after writing your own responses correct the sentence yourself and make them better according to your own thinking and try to use these corrected sentences next time you see those words.

Practice is the key in WAT. 

Sd

It is advised that before going for SSB interview, a candidate should at least prepare things which he/she will definitely encounter during testing like the Blank story, Self Description, Questions related to our personal lives etc. Among afore mentioned things Self description is the one about which even the psychologists suggest that it should be pre-prepared and well practiced. Self description requires us to record our observations about ourselves through the eyes of Parents, Superiors or Teachers, Colleagues or friends and finally ourselves. A simple exercise but its importance lies in the fact that a good SD can earn you the favor of the psychologist and a not so good one can have an opposite effect.

How to make it effective? How to concur your SD with the findings of the psychologist

obtained by reading your TAT, WAT and SRT responses?

There is no exact theory to this but just some simple common sense; here is what I did in my last SSB.

During TAT the 6th picture was a girl (14-16 yrs according to my perception) was sitting on a bench and a young man was standing and talking to her.MY RESPONSE : Brother motivating sister as she was not able to get admission in the college of her choice.

7th picture: 6-7 boys lying down on the ground and one man gesturing and talking to them MY RESPONSE: Sports teacher motivating students to train harder.

8th picture: a boy (10-12 years) sulking while sitting on a chair and a young man putting an arm around his shoulder and talking.MY RESPONSE: Elder brother motivating younger brother (again! ).

Seeing my responses even a blind person would have come to the conclusion that I had fallen into a loop and was short of ideas. I too was alarmed and this thing was constantly running at the back of my mind during the remaining part of testing. Just before my Self Description,I did a bit of reverse engineering and added a sentence in each of my paragraphs of Self Description.

Superior’s opinion: They appreciate my role in 'motivating' the new GET’s that join our company.

Colleague’s opinion: They find me 'motivated' and also rub off the effect on others.

Own opinion: I am able to 'motivate' others and bring out the best in them.

Though I am not an expert but as much as I can tell this provided a counter balance to my screw up in TAT. If a candidate is able to gauge the quality of his responses and can counter balance it in Self Description, half the battle is won.

Now comes the another very important test in SSB i.e 'INTERVIEW' and again Self Description (SD) comes into play if you know the importance of it.Before you are called in for Interview,you are made to wait outside the Interview room.At that time,the IO (Interviewing Officer) is going through your Self Description,PIQ and your other educational certificates and prepares questions for you.He expects you to be the same one as portrayed by you in your PIQ and SD.So,if you know what you have written in SD and had prepared well,then you can do well in Interview also.

You can repeat the lines or exemplify the points you wrote in Self Description.Try to speak the things you wrote in Self Description so that the person portrayed in Self Description and Person being Interviewed comes out to be the same.

This is a highly recommended tips for everybody to prepare your Self description very well.

Experience

GOPAL SHUKLA1AFSB,Dehradun [RECOMMENDED]

As soon as I entered the room and took my seat the IO started firing questions!IO: where are your certificates?ME: I don’t have them with me sir.

IO: you have been to the SSB so many times didn’t you know that you are supposed to get them with you?ME: sir, I was never asked for my certificates earlier. I am sorry sir for the mistake.

IO: you need not apologize but this will go against you, your PIQ is a waste without certificates. as I said earlier you have been to SSB previously also so you know what to expect, without any formalities lets get started. I need to know about……..fired a set of questions related to education, family and friends

I answered them comfortably, missed a couple of questions but he did not remind me again.

IO: you say your favorite subject is maths but you have hardly scored yaar, any specific reason?ME: (I was tempted to say yaar too) Sir, I agree that I have not scored much in UNIV exams but I have cleared a lot of competitive exams and this has been possible due to my command over maths.

IO: what all exams?ME: I named a few…

IO: ye toh aise hi hai yar.. have you won any Olympiad and all in maths.ME: No sir. I participated but no outstanding achievement as such.

IO: tell me when have you fought with someone?

I narrated an incident from college when I had spoken on behalf of my roommate. He grilled me on this for over 10 minutes asking questions like: why were you being his mouthpiece? Was he dumb? Do you act as spokesperson for everybody or was he someone special? Have you ever stopped anyone from breaking traffic rules or urinating in public? I get the impression that you speak up only when it convenient for you.

I ended the debate by saying that “Sir, in my view what I did was necessary and if the same situation arises again I will take the same course of action”

IO: have you been ragged in college?ME: yes sir

IO: what were you made to do?ME: singing, dancing and little introduction.

IO: have you ragged anyone?ME: yes sir

IO: what did you make them do?ME: singing dancing and little introduction

IO: but, its illegal.ME: (foolishly) No sir its not illegal.

IO: (jumped!!!) what? Supreme court has passed a law, don’t you know about it?ME: I know sir, what I meant was that ragging in controlled way is essential for interaction between seniors and juniors, but if it is taken beyond a limit it is harmful for the morale of a student

IO: WHAT? You mean there is no other way of interaction?ME: this one is the most effective sir.

IO: suppose somebody doesn’t want to interact then?ME: its an individuals wish sir, nobody can force him but I have benefited a lot from it as my seniors are my very good friends and its all in a healthy spirit.

My interview was a high pressure one, what I have recounted above is just crux of the matter. It went on for 1 hour and 5 minutes he tried to pressurize me in various ways and said things like “you have done nothing in your life, Baap ke paise barbad kiye hai bas novel padh padh ke (literally he said that)” and many other things. I learnt many important lessons which I would like to share.

1. To be very frank he had my tail between the legs but on my face I never showed any emotion and maintained a smile.

2. He grilled me extensively on roommate and ragging issue, I did not back down from my stand but I was never impolite. Polite and firm is the phrase.

3. I was not flustered by my mediocre records at academics, sports and previous attempts at SSB. Be proud of whatever you have done and show character akin to a warrior.

4. Even the minutest gesture, syllable and sentence is monitored by the IO. So, take sufficient pauses before answering. Think before you speak.

5. In case of such interviews it becomes all the more important to ask a question at the end of the interview as it shows that you are not ready to run out of the room at the first given opportunity. My advice will be to prepare a worthy question for your IO and fire it as and when your chance comes

Baggage for repeaters

22SSB Bhopal (TGC entry), the testing JCO screamed at the top of his voice “kaun kaun pehle kahin aur dhakke kha chukka hai” a confused candidate asked “Sir matlab??” the JCO replied “arre repeater alag alag SSB me dhakke khate rehte hai na wahi puch rha hu “

It’s not easy facing an exam when you know that the person(s) assessing me is aware of the fact that I have already flunked this once or maybe more times. There is a stigma attached to it which somehow makes us uncomfortable and apprehensive. We quote examples of XYZ who made it in his xyzth attempt but deep down we find that the clock is ticking and with each failure we add another entry at the bottom of the PIQ page. Another common cause for embarrassment is when you land up in a group with people who have had only 2-3 attempts and you quote an astronomical figure when asked about the number of attempts, the way we squirm needs no mentioning. The interviewing officer and sometimes the GTO too rub salt into the wounds when they suggest “its better you move on or maybe your talent lies elsewhere”. Though they probably only want to gauge our reaction but surely it hurts like hell.

A very standard dialogue is that Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam did not make it in SSB, yet he went on to become the supreme commander of the armed forces or some XYZ actor, sportsman, celebrity did not make it in SSB yet succeeded in a very different sphere of life. Let’s face it we are no Abdul Kalam’s, men like him are born once in a century, so guys no chance in the next 100 years, its nothing but a polite way of saying “GET OUT”. I am not going to blabber about being tough or keeping a backup for yourself or what attitude/strategy will get you recommended, there is no magic wand and we all know it. The only thing I want to share is that it’s your gut feeling that matters, if you are eligible and if you believe even 1% that you deserve to be an armed force officer then never stop yourself on account of the number of attempts already made. Men like Dr. Kalam are born once in a century but men of character take birth daily from the womb of difficulty, hopelessness and sheer odds.

. We all have heard of Seal team six, the special ops force responsible for operation Geronimo, I would like to tell you an incident related to it. Seal team six was formulated, selected, commissioned and commanded by a man called Richard Marcinko, a US Navy Officer and special ops expert. When he was handpicking men for his team from the UDT (underwater demolition team) another special ops group within the Navy, he insisted on individuals who had somehow scraped and struggled through the entire UDT course and ignored course toppers. When his superiors questioned his reasoning behind this, he replied “the men I have picked may

not be as good as your so called brilliant performers but they sure know how to handle pressure, they know how to stretch their limits and in battle that is what counts. I don’t want men who can swim faster than a fish or shoot with their eyes closed. I want men who can shove their middle finger in the enemy’s face and tell them to go to hell and if required help them find the way.”

Initially I was also petrified at the rapid rate my numbers of attempts were increasing but thankfully sense prevailed and I chucked out the nonsense from my system. The result of my second attempt at SSB was probably the most depressing thing to have happened to me in my life but like all things that phase too passed and hardened me for the tough times ahead. Two years down the road I find myself to be a better individual, I still haven’t reached my destination but I promise that I am not stopping before I get there, no matter how much time, attempts it takes.

P.S-: This post isn’t informative in nature as far as SSB is concerned just my random ramblings. Hope you find something of use in it, if not hopefully you will enjoy reading it. Apologies if you find me preaching on a subject in which I have no expertise. Ignore the typos and grammatical catastrophes if any.

CONFERENCE IN SSBSeveral SSB aspirants have asked me to write about conference in SSB. Please read below my views on the subject.

In the conference each candidate faces all the SSB assessors together. Decision about selection of candidates is taken in the conference by the assessors. Each case is discussed in detail to take a deliberate decision.AS REGARDS YOU, IT IS JUST A FORMALITY, AS DECISIONS ARE TAKEN BASED ON TESTS CONDUCTED EARLIER & NOT CONFERENCE. Usually questions about food, experience & stay are asked by the Interviewing Officer. Only short answers are warranted.