What is Situation Reaction Test in SSB and 7 Tips to Prepare for it

Want to know what SSB SRT test is and best tips to crack it? SRT stands for Situation Reaction Test. Read on to know more about SRT test of SSB interview and 7 tips from experts to prepare well for the Situation Reaction Test.

SRT or Situation Reaction Test is the third test in the category of psychological testing in the SSB interview. It is conducted on the same day TAT and WAT are conducted, that is, on the 2nd Day of SSB after Screening.

As a matter of fact, SRT is conducted immediately after WAT with a gap of about 10 minutes. Since WAT is a confirmatory test to TAT, having SRT immediately after WAT allows assessors to bring out the natural qualities of a candidate without giving much time to think.

As the name suggests, SRT is a test of how you react to situations. Some day to day situations are given to candidates and he/she is asked to write an appropriate response as to what he/she might do in that situation or how would they react in that situation.

For example, you are given a situation as follows:

“An aeroplane crashed near your army camp. You…”

Although everyone might have their own responses, the appropriate response to this would be:

“Call the NDRF for help and meanwhile rescue the injured people with the help of my unit and address medical help to them…”

The Psychology Behind SRT:

As said above, SRT brings out the natural qualities of a candidate without giving much time for them to think. All situations denote real life incidents and the way the candidate faces the situations brings out the effective intelligence of the candidate.

It shows the candidates’ common sense, responsibility, maturity, empathy, reasoning ability and sense of time. Above all, the most important officer like quality checked through this test is the Decision-Making Ability and Quickness of Decision.

How SRT is Conducted in SSB Interview

1. In SRT, 60 real-life-like situations are presented to the candidates which he/she could encounter in day to day life in a printed booklet.
2. There is no right or wrong answers with respect to these situations. Everyone is likely to read these situations in his own way and respond accordingly.
3. All the SRTs have to be completed within 30 minutes. That means each SRT has to be effectively completed within 30 seconds.
4. The responses are to be written in a separate answer booklet that is provided to you. You have to write your answers in page No 10, 11, 12 & 13 of your answer sheet.
5. You must write your responses in the separate sheets given to you for the purpose and not inside the SRT Booklet.
6. You can write the responses in English or Hindi, but English should be preferred.
7. After 30 minutes, “pens down” means you stop writing and submit the responses. Do not go on writing or you may be disqualified.
8. Although you can take any time you want to complete an SRT since the question booklet is with you, it is advisable that you skip any SRT which is taking more than 30 seconds of your time.’
9. Also, you must not be in possession of any watch or any other electronic gadget. So, have an idea of the time limit by yourself.
10. Do not spend too much time in thinking out the answers to the situations. Write quickly the answer that comes to your mind first. Do not turn over the page until you are told to do so.

Preparation Strategy and tips for SRT test of SSB interview

1. You don’t have to prepare separately for the SRT as this is a natural and instinctive test of yours.
2. Empathise yourself into the situation and then think for the solution.
3. The only way to do this is to practice a lot. Initially, try to practise without a clock and time. Try to improve your responses and keep it as positive as you can.
4. Now, if you see progress in your positive thinking, try to think as quick as you can. Further, try putting the time limit of 30 seconds to it.
5. You can download practise sets from the internet or try out the sample SRT tests on this website, but please don’t look for answers and don’t try to copy the same.

 Also check out: Online SRT tests for practice