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WAT Book for SSB – Master the Word Association Test with expert guidance. Ultimate Guide for SSB Psychology Test.

Chapter Ten-How To Master Word Association Test​

This chapter will help you unlock expert analysis on the word ‘Beggar’ in the Word Association Test. Learn from 10 real responses, avoid common mistakes, and craft a perfect model sentence.

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4. Beggar

The fourth word we have taken for study is ‘beggar’. Please write a sentence on it quickly and only then read further.
 

Analysis of why a word like beggar comes in Word Association Test: First let us understand why the word ‘beggar’ is displayed in Word Association Test. A word like ‘beggar’ will be displayed to check the element of compassion in the candidate’s heart. It is believed that if the candidate is having a compassionate heart then, upon seeing a word like beggar, thoughts of compassion will trigger in his mind. However, since most of the candidates are just not aware of the reason behind the word getting displayed, they end up writing extremely vague, or at worst, preachy sentences. Most of the candidates will write sentences reflecting how we can solve the problem of begging/beggars. For example, education overcomes begging. 

Few other extra-talented candidates will go the extra mile and showcase their poetic skills which, by the way, will put off any assessor. For example, someone may write ‘begging for knowledge’. Now here, I would like to help you understand one important principle of Word Association Test. Please ask yourself what will be the very first and immediate thing that comes to our mind when the word ‘beggar’ will be displayed? The picture or the sight of a beggar will come to mind. Isn’t it? If the word ‘Aishwarya Rai’ will be flashed in front of us, won’t the face of Aishwarya Rai be the first immediate thing that will come to our mind? Then why is it that rather than writing about the first immediate thing which is the sight or picture of a beggar, we end up writing about things like ‘begging for knowledge’? This is the biggest blunder committed in Word Association Test.
 
Most of the candidates do not realize that by doing this they are not only displaying intellectual bankruptcy but also being dishonest by not writing about the actual first thought that has come to their mind. Any assessor will know that upon seeing the word beggar, the very first thing that will come to the mind of a candidate is the sight of a beggar. Just imagine how the assessor will feel when he sees such poetic responses which are an attempt to hide the first immediate thought. This is precisely what is called dishonesty. 
 
Last thing is that if, upon seeing the word beggar, rather than the sight of the beggar, something else is coming to the candidate’s mind which has no element of beggar or begging then there is something seriously wrong with the mental health of the candidate and the candidate badly needs to visit a clinical psychologist before even thinking about appearing for SSB.

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Let us now analyse responses submitted in our offline sessions on Word Association Test.

55. Naveen-Beggars sometime found in trafficking activities.

Analysis: Naveen’s responses is extremely opposite of what the board desires to see. Rather than a thought of compassion coming to his mind, what is getting reflected is extreme insensitivity. The sentence is literally viewing beggars as criminals who indulge in trafficking activities. Rather than compassion, a very low and negative opinion about beggars is getting reflected. Beggars are people who are really helpless. Nobody begs out of choice. Only in extreme circumstances and when there is no other option left, do people resort to begging. They are the most unfortunate and hapless beings. If given a choice, any sane human being would prefer to work and live a life of dignity rather than beg. By writing a sentence like this, the candidate has shown a total lack of understanding of life as well as human beings. Can such a person, who is clearly displaying that he doesn’t understand human beings and life, be entrusted with the responsibility of a company of 100 men? The thought of crime coming to mind rather than the thought of compassion is a very clear negative sign in itself.

56. Abhishek-Not a good practice but some of them are bound to do so.

Analysis: Again, in this sentence as well, there is no thought of compassion. When we discuss model/modified sentences you will understand how you can display and confirm that you have compassion in your heart by writing a sentence on the word beggar. Abhishek’s sentence has another negative element of being casual. It is sounding like, oh yes! we know it’s a bad practice but what can we do! He is not moved by the thought of haplessness of human beings. Rather, the sentence is sounding like two friends are talking and one is telling the other very casually and with no emotions whatsoever that I agree it is a bad practise but then we are helpless and we can’t do anything about it. Worst is, there is absolutely no willingness to even try to see if anything can be done even for one beggar for one time in life. A totally negative sentence.

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57. Shrey-begging for good life in front of God gives emotional strength.
 
Analysis: This is exactly the poetry I was talking about. We don’t ‘beg’ in front of God. We ‘pray’. So this unnecessary and unnatural insertion of the word begging in this sentence makes it look and sound very odd. Most important: it doesn’t reveal whether candidate has compassion in his heart. Another reason why this style of writing is undesirable is because by writing like this, the candidate has lost an opportunity to showcase some of his good behavior traits and habits. Not a quality sentence.
 
58. Peeyush-Beggars can’t be the choosers.
 
Analysis: Idioms and phrases, universal truth, facts of life, proverbs and sayings need to be totally avoided in Word Association Test for the simple reason that they do not reveal anything about the candidate’s behavior/personality. Second, the sentence fails to confirm whether the candidate is a compassionate being or not.
 
59. Amad-Employment remove poverty.
60. Nitin-Education can reduce begging.
61. Manish-education overcome begging.
62. Navpreet-Vocational trainings can help beggars to start work
 
Analysis: Amad, Nitin, Manish, and Navpreet have written about overcoming or solving the issue of begging/beggars. I have already discussed about it earlier that a majority of the candidates will write something like this. There is nothing negative about this sentence and might as well get accepted as the board is lenient and at the end of it the sentence is about doing something good for the beggars. The only problem is: it doesn’t confirm in a clear manner if the candidate is a compassionate person. Navpreet has even used the word ‘can’ which shows lack of clarity and lack of confidence.
 

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63. Shivam- Beggars beg for their survival.
 
Analysis: The sentence is not reflecting anything about the candidate’s behavior/action which confirms in a very clear manner that he has compassion. However, it is still reflecting his understanding of life and human beings that they are doing it out of helplessness. If not compassion in a clear way, atleast a deep sense of maturity is getting reflected in the candidate. Hence, even though the sentence doesn’t exactly show what the board is looking for, it will still be considered acceptable as it reveals qualities which are closer to compassion.
 
64. Pawan-showing mercy to beggars is good humanitarian act.
 
Analysis: Pawan’s sentence shows more of an observation of life but doesn’t clearly confirm compassion. With slight modification, he could have easily personalized it. We will see in the model sentences section.
 
65. Dhiraj-helping beggars give satisfaction
66. Tarun- helping a beggar is peaceful.
 
Analysis: Now this is more like it! Dhiraj and Tarun have both clearly confirmed that they do feel good when they help beggars. Please note that the word ‘help’ is the first word in both the sentences. It clearly proves that the very first thought that came to the mind of the candidates was of help and helping someone who is a beggar, a less fortunate person. This clearly confirms there is a very healthy level of compassion in their hearts.
 
Model Sentences for Word Association Test:
 
67. Pawan’s sentence modified: Beggars were fed out of humanity.
 
Analysis: The use of the word ‘were’ shows he is writing from his past experience. This proves it is an action which he has already undertaken at some point of time in life. As I already mentioned earlier, nothing showcases a person’s psychology better than his actions. After all, actions are born out of belief system and psychology is nothing but belief system. The sentence proves that Pawan has felt bad about beggars and fed them at some point of time out of that sense of humanity and ‘compassion’. Feeling bad about them is what compassion is. Rather than just feeling bad and doing nothing, the candidate opted to act and do something: He fed them. Acting out of that compassion is the sign of a very good human being.
 

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68. Feeding a beggar was fulfilling.

69. Giving chocolates to a child beggar gave peace.

Analysis: Both the above sentences confirm candidate is compassionate. The second sentence clearly confirms that the candidate felt deep sympathy and compassion seeing a small child beg and since it was a small child, he thought of getting him chocolates as children love chocolates and feel happy if given one. The sentence reflects something really good and desirable about the candidate.

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