Скачать или смотреть Types of Pictures Used in TAT at SSB and Their Psychological Purpose

Psychological Concepts for Developing a Strong Personality and Leadership – As per Dr. Arun K Shukla
Chief Mentor, Psychologist & Faculty Captain – La Militaire Academy


In the Services Selection Board (SSB), the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is a crucial psychological tool designed to explore a candidate’s subconscious thought processes and personality traits. Candidates are shown a series of ambiguous pictures and asked to create stories around them. The variety of pictures used in TAT is deliberate, as each type serves a unique psychological purpose in evaluating Officer-Like Qualities (OLQs).

Some pictures depict challenging or crisis situations such as accidents, conflicts, or natural disasters. These are used to assess the candidate’s ability to handle stress, make quick decisions, and display courage, empathy, and resourcefulness. Others show neutral or everyday scenarios—like people working, walking, or studying—where the assessor examines how the candidate introduces initiative, teamwork, or leadership into seemingly ordinary circumstances.

Certain images focus on social interactions, such as family, friends, or community settings, to gauge qualities like empathy, responsibility, cooperation, and moral values. Pictures showing military or group situations are particularly significant in SSB, as they reveal the aspirant’s orientation toward teamwork, discipline, patriotism, and collective goals. Occasionally, ambiguous or vague pictures are shown, testing imagination, originality, and the candidate’s ability to create constructive outcomes even when clarity is lacking.

The psychological purpose of these varied pictures is to bring out the hidden dimensions of a candidate’s personality—how they think, perceive roles, assign responsibility, and visualize endings. Positive, balanced, and purposeful stories reflect a candidate’s readiness for military leadership, while pessimistic, negative, or escapist narratives may signal underlying weaknesses.

Thus, the selection of different picture types in TAT is not random but a structured psychological strategy. It ensures a holistic assessment of imagination, emotional stability, problem-solving approach, and Officer-Like Qualities, making TAT a cornerstone of personality evaluation in the SSB.

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