As in the words of Shishir Dixit sir, “It is my earnest dream that I want every family to have at least one member to join the Indian Armed Forces. It is my firm belief that by inspiring young minds to serve in the military, we can strengthen our nation’s defence forces and security. I aim and foster towards enhancing to improve India’s global military ranking from 3rd to 1st place. By building a stronger defence force, I hope to ensure India’s security and prominence in the world.”
I, Mr. Shishir Dixit is the Founder Director and Chairman of Centurion Education Private Limited famously known as Centurion Defence Academy. As the Chief SSB Mentor of Centurion Defence Academy, I have helped thousands of candidates to be deputed as officers in Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Airforce. I along with the entire team of Centurion and its teachers credit Centurion Defence Academy as an unparallel institute for giving record breaking mountain of selections every year for being the institute with the best expertise in SSB Training.
For the past 10 years, I have been actively guiding, instructing many students and have been a motivational speaker and compass for all the young generation in their defence journey training them about the nuances and requirements of a Defence Officer and charting their success and letting them live their dreams through my own vision and hands-on-expertise with the best guidance, study-material resources, infrastructure, preparation techniques, profile mapping, interview preparation, etc. giving a comprehensive outlook and overview of the compact preparation required for SSB.
Psychological Testing Aspect of SSB
As per Shishir Sir, “My objective as a mentor is to ensure and maintain the holistic development of defence aspirants by focusing on key areas such as Mansa (thoughts), Vacha (speech), and Karmana (actions). As the Chief SSB Mentor (Psychology) at Centurion Defence Academy, I guide my students in goal setting, fostering group cohesiveness and cultivating essential leadership traits. Through my expertise and experience, I aim to enhance their academic, physical, mental, emotional, and psychological profiles, preparing them comprehensively for the SSB interview and their future roles in the defence sector.”
Here, at Centurion while doing the profile mapping of the candidate I thoroughly observe and depict and ascertain individual personalities and guide students accordingly in their preparation for psychological exams during the SSB Interview. With years of hands- on-experience and training as well as interacting with students and conducting and training students for interviews, I have cultivated an immense and deep understanding of human behaviour and characteristic features of personality. I have been thoroughly trained in understanding and rectifying important personality traits and guiding students in acknowledging and getting to know their own strengths and areas for weakness.
Preparing for the psychology test in SSB Interview
SSB Interview in my opinion is not like any other regular interview which will require academic knowledge. SSB Interview is more like a behavioural screening test that determines your overall personality. SSB Interview comprises various types of easy, moderate to tough tasks which can be hardly performed without professional guidance. Psychology Tests of SSB Interviews are among those defined tasks. Psychological Tasks are those tasks that assess your personality, so it becomes very important to perform well in these tests because SSB Interview is largely based on the assessment of your personality. So, considering the importance of SSB Psychological Tests, I am going to provide you with the SSB Psychological Test Preparation Tips. These tips will greatly help you in preparation for SSB Psychology Tests which is the basis of Centurion Defence Academy’s training and course curriculum
SSB Psychology Tests
As a clinical psychologist, “ I assist defence aspirants with counselling, stress management, problem-solving and overall personality development. I teach students who aspire to join the armed forces, equipping them with lessons on the sense of responsibility, military leadership and adaptability.”
SSB Psychology Tests are held on the second day of the five-day SSB Interview. A total of four tests are conducted as a part of the SSB Psychology Tests. These psychology tests are- 1. TAT (Thematic Apperception Test) 2. WAT (Word Association Test), 4. SRT (Situation Reaction Tests) and 4. Self-Description. Psychological tests assess the suitability of candidates for a career in the Armed Forces. These tests are structured to evaluate the psychological attributes and overall personality and behavioural traits of candidates.
Types of SSB Psychology Tests in SSB Interview
There are four types of psychological tests that are conducted as part of five days assessment of the SSB Interview. Those four psychology tests are as following-
TAT (Thematic Apperception Test)
TAT or Thematic Apperception Test is the primary test that is conducted by SSB Psychology Tests. In TAT, candidates are shown a series of hazy or blurred pictures, and candidates have to create a story based on every individual picture shown. Candidates get 30 seconds of the timestamp to assess the picture and 4 minutes to write down the story. The purpose of this test is to basically assess the candidate’s imagination, logical reasoning, and psychological as well as behavioural characteristics.
WAT (Word Association Test)
WAT or Word Association Test is the second test of the psychological assessment series which is conducted as part of SSB Psychology Tests conducted in the five days of the SSB Interview. In this test, candidates are shown 60 words one by one for 15 seconds, and candidates have to construct a meaningful sentence on those 60 words. Word Association Test helps in understanding and evaluating a candidate’s thought processes, emotional responses, and personality traits.
SRT (Situation Reaction Test)
The Situation Reaction Test follows on the third number which is conducted as part of five days of the SSB Interview process. In this test, candidates are given a booklet containing 60 hypothetical problems/situations. candidates need to write their first response/solution which comes in the mind of candidates. The purpose of this test is to assess the candidate’s decision-making abilities, problem-solving skills, and attitude towards various situational circumstances.
Self-Description Test
Self-Description is the fourth and the last psychology test which is conducted as a part of psychology tests in five days of the SSB selection process. In these tests, Candidates have to answer certain questions. These questions are about the candidates themselves. In this test, candidates have to answer their friends, family, teachers, and colleagues. The purpose of this test is to evaluate a candidate’s level of self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-perception.
Tips for SSB Psychological Tests
As it is my belief “We must strengthen nation-building through selfless service, drawing inspiration from the exemplary leadership and dedication of the Indian Armed Forces. I guide young aspirants in goal setting and goal clarity, and I make them aware of various career options available, particularly in the armed forces. I teach students who aspire to join the armed forces, equipping them with lessons on the sense of responsibility, military leadership and adaptability.”
SSB Psychology Tests are not ordinary tests that you can give away easily. These tests require mind alertness and thorough practice. Only through these tests, psychological assessors will understand and evaluate the thinking, thought process, and decision-making of candidates. So, it is very important to perform well in these tests. Here, I am going to provide some tips which will definitely help you in performing well in the SSB Psychology Tests.
Maintaining originality- Candidates should understand that SSB Psychology Tests are conducted to assess the real personality. Any fake representation will not help you in any way. That’s why it’s very important to be genuine and authentic. I strictly avoid any candidate trying to portray someone you are not, or speaking any fancy decorated or mugged up lines or being pretentious as the assessors are skilled at identifying inconsistencies and can clearly make out that you are faking or trying to impress the assessors.
Practice enough- It is not possible to excel or have command in psychology tests without proper practice. By solving numerous practice sets of psychology tests, candidates will be able to accustom and equip themselves with the Psychology Tests in a very good manner. Proper practice will help them in developing some of the prime qualities which are required for the SSB Interview such as leadership, teamwork, decision-making, emotional stability, integrity, and adaptability.
Positive Mindset- It is very important to follow and practice keeping a positive mindset for psychology tests in the SSB Interview. Because, there will be many negative TAT, WAT, and SRTs, so if you do not have a positive mindset, you will not be able to write positive responses for those TAT, WAT, and SRTs. It is very important to clear the tests with a positive mindset and confidence showcasing your abilities. Remember to believe in yourself and your potential to succeed and try maintaining a calm and composed demeanour, even in tough situations. As I say always remember that the assessors are not looking for perfection but rather your overall potential and your candidature as a Defence Officer.
Skip any pre-prepared responses- If you write pre-prepared responses in the SSB Psychology Tests, your originality and authenticity will be lost. So, it will be better if candidates form original ideas which come to mind after perceiving a picture, word, situation, or question. As I stress to each candidates by saying that originality is the key so writing original responses will help psychologists in evaluating your personality also.
Preparation For SSB Psychology Tests With Centurion
I, at Centurion Defence Academy provides guidance of psychology tests with my self-understanding, curated expertise and analysis of unique approach towards the psychological tests like PP&DT, TAT, WAT, and SRT which has benefited thousands of students and made successive selections by any defence institute in India. Centurion Defence Academy provides its SSB mentorship under its highly experienced mentors who are retired GTO officers and Interviewing Officers. These Mentors have selected and rejected thousands of aspirants that’s why they know what exactly it takes to qualify for an SSB Interview. The extensive and accurate profile mapping and PIQ training, GD discussion, Interview preparation done by the institute under my mentorship enables the candidates to definitely ace and be clear winners and achieve their dream of serving the nation.
