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● What follows achievement of task. Many candidates show rewards/felicitations to the hero for
doing a wonderful job. Some of the oft-noticed recognitions are ‘he was awarded with Param Vir
Chakra’ ‘the rich man offered him a good job in his factory’ or ‘he was selected as the Mayor of
the city’, his boss offered him double promotion etc. The reward seeker sets a precondition to do a
good act; thus he is calculative and shrewd. He is selfish and does not perform unless some benefit
is perceived. A habitually good person always gives rewards/personal profits a secondary
consideration in pursuit of his duties.

Lesson 18

TAT Must Answer the Following
To conclude in most simple terms—‘TAT stories are the accounts of ‘how the hero was able to
solve a difficult problem or achieve a task of urgent nature’.
The following box contains the sum and substances of all that make a good story in TAT—
Stories in TAT Must answer the following
By answering this you will
Who is the hero ? TAT is the problem solving
answer three basic thematic
behaviour in a particular or
questions. What is the task/mission of the hero ?
1. What led to the scene ? single context. By this way
Was the hero able achieve his goal ? you will qualify in TAT.
2. What is going on ?
3. What the outcome is ? How the task was achieved ?
Additional Do’s and Don’ts of Story Writings

● Give simple and brief introduction of the hero in your stories. Do not decorate your hero with
superlatives like best in studies, best in sports, best cadet in NCC, most human, extremely soft and
kind-hearted etc. Remember hero is indirectly projecting your own qualities. He is not a superman.
● Avoid progress of stories with expressions like ‘somehow he did it’ or he could do it by his ‘sheer
hard work’. Instead, give details.
● Some of the pictures contain stress obviously. A road accident, a drowning child, a sinking ship, a
scene of storm and such like stressful situation may be depicted. Some candidates, instead of
perceiving stress, see the whole situation into a ‘drama’ or ‘a scene from a movie’ or something
else that is not real but a created one. Denial is a serious psychological limitation. One can ill afford
to ignore the obvious stress and distort the same into a drama or created scene.
● Some candidates achieve the mission in the stories by wishful thinking. I reiterate that your stories
must answer ‘how the task was achieved’. The series of steps between task identification and task
accomplishment must be clearly spelt out.
● Some candidates think that all twelve situations are the part of a single story. Though it is rare
nevertheless has happened many time. Remember, there is no link or continuity between two
situations projected to you.
● For the blank situation you must imagine a situation then and there and write a story there upon
rather than going with a story prepared beforehand. Without dwelling the psychological basis of
this advice. I wish to emphasise that the previously projected situation in a very subtle way. This
created mental set seeks a direction, which must be given expression. If you go with a prepared
story in advance, you run a risk of suppression of your own aroused thoughts. Suppression creates
conflicts, which might affect your performance in subsequent tests. Hence, the same advice would
be to act according to your mental set and imagine a situation on the spot.