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2. Your writing kit must have two sharpened pencils, a pencil sharpener and one eraser of good
quality.
3. Occupy your own allotted seat and after that withdraw your thoughts from all that is not relevant.
4. Be attentive to the instructions. Instructions are imparted in simple English. Do not hesitate to
seek clarification if you have not understood any part of the instructions.
5. Participate in the process of going through the examples and the practice set whole-heartedly. Do
not ignore any part of the instruction or take anything for granted.
6. Be a Gentleman (if I may use the word ‘Gentle person’ for women candidates) in your conduct.
Show your discipline and full co-opertion with the Duty Psychologist. Sometimes he may request you
to help him in distribution or collection of answer-sheets or question-booklets. You must happily extend
him your help.
How to Prepare for Intelligence Tests ? You must bear in mind that the answers of intelligence
tests are evaluated for their correctness. They are ‘objective’ in a way that every question has only one
correct/admissible answer. It is not possible to consider variation in answers that may result due to the
influence of Personal psychological attributes. The only way to prepare for intelligences tests is to
practice sincerely. Lot of Books on intelligence test are available in libraries and on bookstands. You
may pick up a few of them and practice on your own. Be faithful to time to attain speed.

Lesson 13
Projective Tests

Projective tests are those tests in which subjects (candidates in our context) project their own
personality qualities in their responses. Candidates responses are not evaluated for correctness.
Inference about the psychological attributes of candidates is drawn from their responses. The
psychological test battery includes the following four tests in vogue in SSBs :—
1 2 3 4

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

Thematic Apperception Test
Thematic Apperception Test is picture story-writing test. The Psychologist projects a few black and
white pictures on the screen. Candidates are asked to write a story on the situation shown in the
pictures. Pictures vary in clarity (some pictures may be clear, partially clear or vague) and in content. In
the present system of SSBs, candidates are required to write eleven stories on the projected situations
and one story on a situation imagined by themselves. Before proceeding further we must understand the
concept of perception and apperception.
Perception and Apperception :—The psychological phenomenon that makes the core of the TAT
is ‘Apperception’. Apperception implies ‘assigning the perceived object’. It is a step further to the
process of perception. In perception an object or a person is perceived for recognition and identification.
Psychologically, the process of assigning meaning to sensory input is called perception. Various
audio-visual clause, properties of figure and background etc. combine with the attributes of the
individual (perceiver) play their role in such recognition and identification. However, the interaction
with the environment is incomplete without the identification of purpose/intention of the perceived
object/person in his environment.