Chapter Eight-How To Master Situation Reaction Test
This chapter has a detailed study of one of the most puzzling situations of situation reaction test.
Chapter 8-SRT-2-He wanted to join army service but his father felt that he must look after business. He will___
(This is Chapter 8. To read Chapter 9, click on the button at the bottom of the page)
This is the second situation we have chosen for study. Please write your reaction on it quickly and only then read further.
Let us first understand why this kind of a situation will come during the situation reaction test.
This kind of a situation will come to see two things mainly. First will be to check whether the candidate is selfish or whether he is a selfless human being who knows how to live for others as well. The second thing this situation will check is effective intelligence. Let me explain how.
The situation has two elements which need to be answered. First is about the candidate’s desire to join army. The second is about father wanting that he join business. We need to analyse this situation in a deeper manner. When candidates look at this situation, a huge majority of them feel that this situation has come to check their desire and level of motivation to join our Army. That is why they only write about how they will join army by convincing father or by doing whatever it takes and that is precisely where they go wrong. Let me explain how.
If you look at the situation carefully, you will realise that it does not mention anywhere that the father is a bad/negative person. It does not have bad father written in it. That means the father is how a father is generally. In day-to-day life we see that every father does his best to ensure that his child gets all that he desires. No normal average father would ever like that his child will have to give up on any of his dreams or desires. So, this leads us to question why and when will a normal average father ask his son not to do what his heart desires but to rather work in his business?
28
If you think about it carefully, you will realise that there is perhaps only one situation in which this may happen and that is if the father is facing a problem in running his business and needs a helping hand whom he can trust and rely upon. A good son should be able to see the problem his father is facing and should be very concerned about it. A responsible son will never leave his father alone when facing a problem. Having said that, it is also his deep desire to join our army. If the candidate is intelligent and doesn’t panic then he will first see if there is any way he can help his father as well as fulfil his own desire. In this particular situation, as we will see in the subsequent section, it is possible and that is why the candidate’s answer should reflect it. However, as I said earlier, rather than writing about how both the things will be done, the candidates will mainly just write about convincing father and joining army. Let us analyse the responses submitted by our candidates and then we will take a look at the model answer.
1) Ravi-tell his father that army is his passion and convince him.
Analysis-The answer clearly confirms that the candidate is selfish because he has only written about his own desire. There is no mention about the second issue in the situation which is related to father’s business. A word like tell denotes a commanding and authoritative tone. Tell makes it look like a one way talk in which the candidate is not at all interested in listening to what his father has to say. Tell also makes it sound like the candidate does not respect his father and treats him more like a servant. Next problem is that the use of the word passion shows a sense of fascination with our armed forces. A candidate should never use the word passion anywhere during the SSB. A word like passion being used by the candidate puts off any serving officer. In the end, the candidate has just convinced his father. This shows that the candidate is a kind of person who would just like things to go the way he wants and will not bother about the problems others might be facing. The answer is revealing a lot of negative qualities in the candidate.
29
2) Dhiraj-He will convince his father and suggest brother to look after business.
Analysis-Is the brother not going to have desires of his own? Is the brother a servant who is supposed to do things which you don’t want to do? Are we not reflecting that we are not having any care and affection for younger brother in our heart? The candidate is just not thinking about the dreams and desires his younger brother might be having. If this is the attitude towards a younger sibling then what will be the attitude towards subordinates in the future. It practically makes it clear that the subordinates are going to be treated like a piece of garbage. The answer is clearly confirming that the candidate is extremely selfish and will even go to extent of making his younger sibling sacrifice his own dreams so that he can fulfil his own desires. The other problem is that the answer mentions about business in just a passing manner. This further confirms that the candidate has no concern whatsoever about the problem being faced by father. The answer is showing extremely negative qualities in the candidate.
3) Pawan-he looked after business, convinced father about aim and joined the army.
Analysis-The answer is totally confusing. If the candidate started looking after business but later joined army, then what happened to the business? Did the father stop facing problem in the business which allowed the candidate to join army? The answer doesn’t clarify if father stopped facing problem which allowed the candidate to join army. Since the answer doesn’t confirm that father stopped facing problem, it will only mean that the candidate joined army even though his father was facing problem in business and was needing a helping hand.
30
Isn’t that selfishness? The answer is not only raising a lot of questions, but it is also confirming that either the candidate is totally selfish or is completely absent minded. In both the cases, the candidate is extremely unfit to become an officer.
4) Sahil-Persuade his father that his interest is to join army. If he denies then he sincerely looks after the business.
Analysis-The answer is reflecting many negative qualities. First of all, the candidate did not try to find a solution which will help his father as well as let him pursue his dream. It shows lack of effective intelligence. Second problem is that he has first spoken about his desire to his father and made no effort to understand what problem is being faced by him. This gives a hint of selfishness. Next problem is that he has mentioned about looking after business only if father doesn’t allow to join army. This shows he is going to do it only out of helplessness. The use of the word sincerely will not help here. Next problem is that the answer is showing that the candidate isn’t having faith in himself and that he will be able to convince his father. The possibility that father may not get convinced shows lack of faith in self. Another negative thing which gets conveyed by this is that the father is also not a loving and caring person and is insensitive and will simply not feel bad stopping his own son from pursuing his dream and desire. The answer is reflecting just so many negative qualities in the candidate.
5) Nitin-he will try to convince his father by telling him the importance and benefits of joining army, and will work hard to join army.
Analysis-This answer is a classic example of how the candidates end up revealing negative points about themselves which are not even related to the situation or the answer being sought. The candidate has used the phrase benefits of joining army and thereby conveyed very clearly that he is mainly wanting to join army due to the benefits it offers.
31
The candidate has come to join army in order to gain from it rather than to give to it or to contribute to it. This is the worst possible thing a candidate can display. Apart from it, like many other responses earlier, the candidate has made no effort to help father or understand his problem. The candidate only talks about his own desire and on top of it does further damage by using the word benefit. No organization would ever want someone who wants to join in only because of the benefits it offers.
6) Shyam-he convinced father by talking about his passion and ambition and will join in army.
Analysis-Again, the use of the word passion will have the same interpretation as in Ravi’s response. The sentence displays selfishness as no effort has been made to help father or think about his problem. Use of the word ambition also will reflect poorly as these kinds of words are too heavy and too big and candidates should refrain from using them unnecessarily. Adequate analysis has been made of similar responses already.
7) Priya-tell his father that he has trained his mind and body to serve in Indian army and that is most suitable career where he could put his best efforts and continue his preparation.
Analysis-The word tell shows disrespect for father and an authoritarian mindset. The sentence makes no mention of father’s problem. The candidate seems to be not bothered at all about the problems which are being faced by his father. Another problem is that the answer is just too long for this kind of a situation. Please remember that some situations are such that only a 4-6 words one line answer is enough. There are some situations, where 2 sentences answer of around 12-15 words will be needed. There will be few situations which will warrant 20-25 words answer extending to 3-4 sentences.
32
Please note that there is a difference between line and sentence. A sentence is from full stop to full stop whereas a line is what is printed on the paper already. If a candidate will write a 4-sentence answer where only a 5 words answer is adequate then he may not be able to answer more than 20-25 situations. If the candidate ensures that he is not writing a single extra word other than what is needed and is also not wasting a single second, then generally he will not be able to go beyond answering 40 situations and that is good enough. In fact, it is very good and healthy if the candidate answers around 35-40 situations with good relevant officer like qualities getting reflected in the answer.
8) Shrey-convince his dad by telling him that he serve for 15 years in army than join the business.
Analysis-Tell denotes lack of respect for father and an authoritarian mindset. The other major problem is that the answer shows total absence of even the most basic form of intelligence. If the candidate is going to be away for 15 years, then what will happen to the business in the mean time? If father is facing a problem in conducting business on a day-to-day basis, isn’t there a possibility that it may collapse in a few months or years and not exist upon the candidate’s return after 15 years? If the father will end up managing the business somehow for the next 15 years, then will he be even needing the candidate’s help after 15 years? The sentence not only confirms selfishness but clearly confirms an absence of basic intelligence.
33
9) Tarun-He convinced him with logical reasons, assured him that they will find the right person for business.
Analysis-The answer is in the right direction but is not written in an adequately correct manner. It is not even complete in itself. Using a word like convinced at the very start of the answer shows that the main thing driving the candidate is his own desire and not really the problem father is facing. Let us see in the model answer what changes the candidate should have made.
Model Answer: Discuss business’ problem and army career with father. Help him appoint manager for business. Join army. Follow up daily on business.
Analysis-In the first sentence of the answer, the first mention out of the two issues is of father’s business. In any situation which has more than one problem to be addressed, whatever the candidate addresses first in the answer is considered to be his first priority. Since father’s problem is talked about first in the answer, it shows father’s problem is more important to him than his own personal desire. This shows he is selfless and very responsible towards family. The very first word used is discuss and not tell. The word discuss shows a two-way conversation and a willingness to even listen to what the other person has to say. It shows genuine concern as well. Upon discussion the candidate has come up with a solution which helps his father as well as helps him pursue his dream. On top of it, he has not stopped after appointing manager. He has kept following up on daily business even after joining army. This shows his concern for his family and also sense of responsibility. The other major positive point the answer confirms is that the candidate is capable of handling multiple responsibilities simultaneously. An officer is required to handle multiple charges and hence this quality will make the candidate come across as all the more suitable for an officer’s role.
📺 New YouTube Channel for SSB GD, Lecturette & Current Affairs!
We’re about to start posting high-quality videos on current affairs, GD, lecturette & static GK — made especially for SSB and UPSC aspirants. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the upcoming uploads!
We’re about to start uploading powerful SSB content from June 15 — Click here to join our YouTube channel today!
34