Page 20 - Failure to Triumph - Journey of A Student

My Target Service Selection Board (SSB)

How to Prepare For TAT?

“It doesn’t matter if you have failed, if you had been beaten. All that really matters is if you get back
up and try again. Because winning is fun, but winning when nobody thought you would, is just
awesome.”

Thematic appreciation test is the very first test of the Psychology round giving a dozen of pictures to
perceive with 11 being hazy & the last standing blank. You get 30 seconds to think and 4 minute to
write the story. The hazy pictures are presented because it is assumed that the candidate will reveal
happenings of his life, through the stories. Also through these hazy pictures different situations are
shown and it is expected that the qualities of social adaptation, leadership, adventure, team work
might come out. The blank picture is presented, so as to analyse the thought process of candidate
and his ability to link with the sequence shown to him. This is also linked to his imagination power as
through this blank slide the psychologist tries to gather the idea of what a candidate has in mind for
his future. It might be linked to his/ her vision, mission of life.

It is also said that the qualities that the psychologist gathers are compared with those shown in PIQ
and forwarded to GTO and PI officer for crosschecking. So if anyone wants to fake in SSB it is not at
all possible because similar things would be checked throughout in all the processes and if they
overlap achirally then only can a candidate have his chances for recommendation. Now everybody
would be thinking of how to write an effective story.

I still remember the following lines: ‘Your future begins with your next thought’ ~~ Bryant McGill. And
it’s true give a thought before penning down to create your future. Feel free to get in touch with me
for quick tips and converting your dreams into reality.