SRT in SSB - Situation Reaction Test

The SRT is the third psychology test on Day 2, sandwiched between WAT and Self Description. Sixty short situations, printed in a booklet — daily life, accidents, family, work, ethics, conflict. Almost none of them are military. The SSB is not testing whether you know army procedure; it is testing what kind of person walks into the problem.

What is the SRT?

Each situation is one or two sentences long and ends, implicitly or explicitly, with a question: what do you do, what do you say, how do you react. You write one to three short sentences in the space provided. The booklet is read as a single document — what the Psychologist is looking for is not the brilliance of any one response but the type of reaction that turns up most often across 60.

The 30-second window is doing real work. Long enough for an honest action. Too short to compose the action you imagine a model officer would take if you do not naturally think that way. Candidates who try to write what is expected lose pace somewhere around situation 35 and start leaving lines blank. Candidates who write their genuine first reaction usually finish 58 to 60 with a minute to spare. The Psych is read across both groups; pace itself is part of the data, and so is the gap between what a candidate would actually do and what they wish they would do.

Conduct of the SRT

Parameter	Detail
Number of situations	60
Total time	30 minutes
Time per situation	~30 seconds
Format	Printed booklet; you write in the space provided below each situation
Instructions	Write your immediate reaction — what you would actually do, think, or feel
Allowed	Blue or black pen, brief notes if needed
Not allowed	Going back to previous situations, erasing and rewriting

What SRT Actually Tests

Where the TAT hands you a hazy picture and asks you to construct a world, the SRT hands you a small, specific world and asks what you do inside it. The stakeholders are named, the problem is concrete, and your role is implied. Across 60 of these, the Psychologist is reading for a small number of axes — none of them about cleverness, all of them about default action.

• Instinctive decision-making: Does the response begin with a verb you own, or with deliberation about what you might do? "I would think about whether to..." is the inverse signal — it is read under Speed of Decision as low. The SRT is read across 60 responses; what the Psych is looking for is whether action is your default mode, or whether you only act when explicitly instructed.
• Action vs description: "I call the ambulance and start CPR" is action. "I would feel worried and wonder what to do" is description. The first is a sentence about what happens next. The second is a sentence about what is happening inside the candidate's head — interesting, but not what the SRT measures.
• Personal responsibility: When the situation contains an error, a wrong, or a person in need, the Psychologist watches whether you take the first action yourself or whether you immediately hand the first action to a senior, the police, or the authorities. Reporting upward is not bad — but if it is the entire response, and it is the entire response 30 times in a row, the OLQ that gets flagged is Initiative, filed under absent.
• Proportionality: A misplaced wallet does not need a police FIR; a road accident needs more than a sigh of regret. Reactions that are too small for the situation are flagged under Effective Intelligence; reactions that are too large — calling police on a sibling for a minor disagreement, threatening violence in a workplace dispute — are flagged under Maturity and Self-Confidence as compensating impulse.
• Social awareness: When the scene includes other people, does your response register them? Many candidates write reactions in which they are alone in the situation even though three other people are named in the prompt. That isolation reads as a Social Adaptability gap.

OLQ Mapping Table

Situation type	Primary OLQ being assessed
Emergency / accident / sudden crisis	Speed of Decision, Courage, Effective Intelligence
Conflict between two people you know	Social Adaptability, Cooperation
You discover a rule being broken or corruption	Sense of Responsibility, Initiative, Courage
You fail at something important	Determination, Self-Confidence, Sense of Responsibility
You are in charge of a group with a task to complete	Organising Ability, Initiative, Liveliness
You witness someone in distress	Cooperation, Social Adaptability, Stamina
You are physically challenged or in discomfort	Stamina, Courage, Determination
Someone criticises you or accuses you unfairly	Self-Confidence, Social Adaptability
A friend or family member is in trouble	Sense of Responsibility, Initiative
You must deliver bad news or make an unpopular decision	Courage, Power of Expression, Self-Confidence

Do's and Don'ts

Do	Don't
Write what you would actually do — your genuine first reaction.	Don't write what you think an ideal officer would do if you don't naturally think that way.
Keep reactions brief — 1 to 3 short sentences is enough.	Don't write long paragraphs. You will run out of time and the quality of later responses degrades.
Use first person — "I will", "I call", "I help".	Don't write in third person — "one should", "the person should".
Name a specific action — call, report, carry, organise, apologise.	Don't write vague intentions — "I would handle the situation", "I would do the needful".
In crisis situations, take personal ownership of the first action.	Don't wait for someone else to act or simply report and step away.
Stay proportionate — match the intensity of your response to the gravity of the situation.	Don't escalate a minor conflict to police involvement or under-respond to a genuine emergency.

4 Response Types — How the Psychologist Classifies SRT Reactions

Response type	Description	Score direction
Active-Constructive	Candidate takes immediate personal action, addresses the root cause, involves the right people proportionately. Reaction is specific and leads to a resolution.	Highest — directly indicates strong OLQs
Active-Destructive	Candidate takes immediate action but the action is disproportionate, aggressive, or damages relationships without solving the problem.	Flagged — shows impulse without judgement
Passive-Constructive	Candidate correctly identifies what should be done but takes no personal action — "reports to authority", "informs a senior", "waits to be told".	Moderate — shows awareness without initiative
Passive-Avoidant	Candidate describes feelings, hedges, or avoids taking any position. "I would think about it", "I would feel bad", "I don't know what to do".	Lowest — signals lack of decision-making ability

30 Practice Situations with Model Reactions

Situation	Model reaction
You see a road accident while travelling to an important interview.	I stop, check for casualties, call the ambulance with the location, signal oncoming traffic to slow down, and wait until another responsible adult takes over the scene. I call ahead about the delay from the ambulance side, not before.
Your close friend is cheating in an exam. You are sitting next to him.	I tap his desk and shake my head once — he understands. After the exam I tell him plainly that I will not cover for him if anyone asks, and that I expect him not to put me in that position again.
You are leading a group trek when a member sprains an ankle 8 km from the base.	I assess the injury, assign two members to support the injured person, send the fastest walker ahead to arrange transport at base, and continue to the base at an adjusted pace.
Your senior officer has given an incorrect order that could harm the mission.	I request a brief private word, present my concern factually, and accept his decision once I have been heard. If the outcome harms the mission, I document my objection.
You discover that a colleague has submitted false documentation to get promoted.	I report the discrepancy to my reporting officer in writing with the specific documents that raise the concern.
You are told just before a presentation that the projector is not working.	I deliver the presentation without slides, using a whiteboard for key data. Preparation means I know the material — not the slides.
A child is drowning in a lake. There is no one else around. You are a weak swimmer.	I shout continuously while throwing whatever floats — a log, my bag, my jacket — toward the child to grab. I enter only as far as the shallow bottom holds firm under my feet, keep one hand on a fixed point on the bank, and pull from there.
Your subordinate consistently arrives late despite two warnings.	I have a formal documented counselling session, set a specific timeline for improvement, and follow up at that date. Further failure means escalation to my senior.
You are on duty when your parent calls with a family emergency.	I inform my supervisor immediately, hand over my responsibilities formally, take approved leave, and return as soon as the situation is resolved.
You are publicly criticised by your supervisor in front of the team for an error you did not make.	I stay composed, accept the criticism in the moment, and request a brief private meeting to clarify the facts after the session ends.
The vehicle you are travelling in breaks down in a remote area at night.	I inform the nearest known contact about our location, use any map or GPS available to assess options, and keep the group calm and together while help is arranged.
You are alone in the office when you discover an accounting discrepancy suggesting fraud.	I document what I have found in writing, secure the evidence, and report to the compliance officer the same day.
A person in the crowd collapses at a public event you are attending.	I kneel, check responsiveness, call out for a doctor in the crowd, call emergency services, and start CPR if there is no pulse and I am trained.
You have failed your fourth SSB attempt. Your family is deeply disappointed.	I take one day to sit with it, then write down the two or three things the assessors actually flagged. I plan the next six months around fixing those — not the SSB in general — and I tell my family the plan rather than the disappointment.
Your friend borrows money from you and is now avoiding repayment.	I speak to him directly and honestly. I value the friendship over the money but I am not comfortable with the silence. I give him a specific date to respond.
You notice a fire starting in a building you are in.	I sound the alarm, guide the nearest people toward the exit, ensure no one is left behind in the immediate area, and call the fire service from outside.
You are asked to lead a team of people older and more experienced than you.	I begin by listening — understanding what each person knows best and how they prefer to work. I make decisions, but I ask for their input on areas where they have more experience than I do.
You catch a junior team member stealing from the pantry.	I speak to him privately, state what I saw, give him an opportunity to explain, and report it formally if there is no credible explanation.
You have just been told your project will not meet its deadline due to a team member's delay.	I immediately identify which parts can still be completed, renegotiate the deadline with the stakeholder with a new realistic date and reason, and have a direct conversation with the team member about the consequence of the delay.
Someone spreads a false rumour about your character in your workplace.	I address it directly with the person, state clearly that the information is false, and move forward. I do not waste energy amplifying it.
You are the last person to board a bus and there is only a standing seat.	I stand. If the journey is long, I rotate my weight between legs. Discomfort of this size does not need a response.
You are on a night march and your torch battery dies.	I use the moonlight or phone torch as backup, reduce pace, stay in contact with the person ahead, and inform the section leader of the situation.
A stranger at a railway station asks for money for food. They appear genuinely hungry.	I buy them a meal from the stall rather than giving cash. It is faster and ensures the help reaches its purpose.
You witness two colleagues arguing heatedly, with one becoming physically threatening.	I step in calmly, physically position myself between them, ask both to step back, and escalate to the supervisor if either continues after being asked to stop.
You are given a task you have no prior experience in.	I immediately identify the two or three people who know this area best, ask them direct questions, then take ownership of the execution. I do not pretend to know what I do not.
You discover your younger sibling has been skipping school for two weeks.	I speak to him privately without anger to understand why. I then speak to the school, inform my parents factually, and ensure there is a plan in place for the coming weeks.
You are stranded in a jungle with two others who are panicking.	I calm the group first — panic causes mistakes. Then I assess: water, shelter, direction. I take the first practical step — finding a water source — while keeping everyone informed.
You find a wallet with cash and ID on the road.	I use the ID to contact the owner directly if possible. If not, I hand it to the nearest police post with a written record of what it contained when I found it.
Your team wins a competition but you know one member broke a rule to win.	I speak to the team privately. We either disclose the rule breach to the organisers ourselves or decline to accept the award. I will not accept a win we did not earn cleanly.
You are given a very boring and repetitive task for two weeks.	I complete it to the same standard as any other assignment. The task has a purpose even if it is not visible to me. I do not signal my boredom to others.

30 Additional Practice SRT Situations with Model Reactions

Use these to practise writing reactions at pace. Set a 30-second timer per situation. Write 1–2 short sentences. Reactions should be action-oriented, show responsibility, and consider the group. These 30 situations cover six categories — five each — to ensure varied practice across the full range of SRT scenario types.

Situation	Model Reaction
You are on a group hike when a flash flood begins filling the valley path ahead. The group has limited time to reach higher ground.	I immediately move the group toward the nearest visible elevation, count heads as we move, and ensure no one is left behind.
A fire breaks out in the kitchen of the camp mess while you and your team are eating. The cook is shouting for help.	I shout for everyone to evacuate, help the cook away from the flames, and call the fire services from outside the building.
You are cycling on a highway when the vehicle ahead of you hits a motorcyclist. Both vehicles stop. The motorcyclist is lying on the road.	I park my cycle safely, check the motorcyclist for responsiveness, call an ambulance, direct traffic around the scene, and stay until help arrives.
During a river-crossing exercise, one of your teammates loses footing and is swept a few metres downstream into a shallow pool.	I move along the bank to the pool's edge, extend a rope or branch, and pull him out while two others anchor me from behind.
A teammate collapses with heat exhaustion during a long-distance run in summer. He is conscious but disoriented.	I help him to shade immediately, loosen his clothing, pour water on his neck and wrists, and ask someone to call for medical support while I stay with him.
Your team member refuses to carry his share of the load during a group task, saying it is unfair he was assigned the heaviest piece.	I redistribute the weight fairly among all members, including myself, and acknowledge his concern without allowing the group to stall.
Half your group wants to take a shortcut that technically breaks the task rules. The other half is uncomfortable.	I side with following the rules, explain that a shortcut that violates the task terms negates the result, and redirect the group to the correct route.
Before a group exam, your classmates are passing around copied answers. You are the only one who has not used them.	I do not use the copied answers and speak privately to the instigator after the exam about the risk they are creating for everyone.
During a group planning exercise, two members are arguing loudly and blocking progress. The group is running out of time.	I interrupt firmly and calmly — "Let us note both views and move forward; we have ten minutes left" — and redirect the group to the next decision.
A teammate you rely on tells you the night before a major presentation that he cannot participate due to personal reasons.	I divide his portion between the remaining members immediately, adjust the presentation structure, and ensure we rehearse the new version before morning.
Your senior officer gives an order that seems incorrect based on the briefing you both received. The difference could affect the outcome of the exercise.	I request a brief moment to confirm my understanding, present the specific discrepancy, and accept his final decision once I have been heard.
You discover that a contractor working on your unit's project has billed for materials that were never delivered.	I document the discrepancy with the delivery records, report it in writing to the authorised officer, and keep a copy of my report.
A senior colleague asks you to sign off on a document you have not checked, saying it is "just a formality."	I read the document before signing. I do not sign anything I have not verified, regardless of how it is described.
You witness a superior making a biased decision against a junior colleague in a formal appraisal process.	I document what I observed and report it through the appropriate grievance or reporting channel. I do not involve the junior directly before I have reported it.
You are asked to give a speech praising a policy you personally disagree with.	I present the factual points of the policy accurately and professionally. I do not sabotage the communication — but I will not fabricate personal endorsement I do not hold.
There is only one tent for six people during an unexpected rain on a trek. It is too small for everyone.	I set up the tent for the most vulnerable members — the ill, the youngest — and organise improvised rain cover using groundsheets and rope for the rest of us.
Your group has only one water bottle left for a 4-hour return march. It is not enough for everyone.	I ration the water strictly — a set amount per person per hour — and increase our pace to reduce the total time on the march.
Your team has been given only two ladders for a task that typically requires four. The task cannot be postponed.	I redesign the approach so the two ladders are moved sequentially rather than simultaneously, adjust the team positions accordingly, and begin.
There is only one seat on the returning bus for your group of three. The bus leaves in two minutes.	I put the most unwell or physically stressed teammate on the bus and arrange alternative transport for the remaining two.
Your exam result shows a different score than what you calculated. The re-check window is only open for one day.	I immediately submit a re-evaluation request in writing with my calculation and the specific question references where I believe the difference lies.
You miss a flight to an important selection interview because of a traffic delay. The next flight arrives two hours late.	I call the selection board immediately, explain the situation honestly, ask if a later arrival is possible, and take the next available flight.
You fail a professional examination for the second consecutive time despite consistent preparation.	I allow myself one day to process it, then get my marked answer sheet to identify the specific gaps, and build a targeted plan for the next attempt.
The project you led for three months collapses the day before its final demonstration due to a technical fault.	I assess overnight what can be partially salvaged, prepare an honest account of what went wrong for the panel, and present the functional components with a clear explanation of the failure.
You are removed from the team captain position mid-season due to a performance dispute with the coach.	I accept the decision without public complaint, continue performing as a team member, and request a private conversation with the coach to understand the specific concerns.
You are publicly corrected by a trainer in front of your batch for doing an exercise wrong. You believe your technique was correct.	I accept the correction in the moment. I practise the shown technique and, if the doubt persists, I clarify privately with the trainer after the session.
You see a group of bystanders filming a street fight instead of intervening or calling the police. The fight is escalating.	I call the police immediately, ask the nearest physically capable bystander to help me separate the fighters, and do not wait for others to act first.
You witness a road accident at night with no other vehicles or people in sight. One person appears seriously injured.	I call emergency services, describe the location precisely, switch on my hazard lights or use a torch to make the scene visible, and stay with the injured person until help arrives.
A child approaches you at a crowded railway station saying she is lost and cannot find her parents.	I take her to the railway station help desk immediately, give a description of her to the staff for the public address system, and stay with her until her parents are located.
You notice that the elderly neighbour of your hostel has not been seen for two days and their curtains remain closed.	I knock on their door, check with building staff whether they have been seen, and contact their family or a welfare service if there is no response.
You see a vendor's cart being tipped over by a group of young men who walk away laughing.	I help the vendor recover his goods and stock, note any identifying details of the men, and advise the vendor to file a police report if he wishes to.

Preparation Strategy

• Week 1 — Catch your default: Twenty situations a day, 30-second timer per response, no editing. After the day's set, sort the responses into the four reaction types. Most candidates have a dominant type. The first job is to know which one is yours, not to fix it.
• Week 2 — Fix only what is broken: Rewrite the Passive-Avoidant and Active-Destructive responses, but read across them first. Is the avoidance always in conflict scenarios? Is the over-reaction always when authority is challenged? The pattern is more useful than any individual rewrite.
• Week 3 — Run the full booklet: Sixty situations in thirty minutes. Track completion. Below 50 is a pace problem, not an OLQ problem — usually fixed by capping responses at two sentences. Drill until 58–60 is reliable.
• Week 4 onwards — Stress-test the scenario range: Build a set with rough quotas — ten emergencies, ten ethical dilemmas, ten leadership situations, ten interpersonal conflicts, ten resource scarcities, ten personal failures. Your reaction type should not change with the scenario type. If you are decisive in emergencies and hesitant in interpersonal conflicts, the Psych will read the same split.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use dot points or short phrases instead of full sentences?

Yes, provided the action is unambiguous. "Call ambulance, divert traffic, stay with victim" is a strong response — three concrete verbs, three specific objects. "I help, then proceed" is a poor response not because it is short but because nobody can tell what helping means. The grammar is negotiable; the specificity is not.

What if a situation has no good option — all options seem problematic?

The booklet contains a few of these on purpose. The Psychologist is not looking for the correct answer because there isn't one; they are looking at how you reason when reality stops cooperating. Pick the least-bad option, state it, and add the one-clause reason it is least-bad. The candidate who refuses to choose because each option has a downside is recording a Passive-Avoidant response under the heaviest possible spotlight.

Should I always be the hero in SRT responses?

Not the hero — the first mover. You can involve others, escalate to a senior, call professional services. The Psychologist is watching for whether your involvement comes before the escalation or instead of it. "I inform my senior" as the only action, across the booklet, is the most reliable signal of a delegation-first personality the SRT generates.

Is it bad to write a response about emotions? ("I feel concerned…")

A clause of emotion is human; a sentence of pure emotion is a Passive-Avoidant response. "I feel concerned and immediately call the ambulance" is fine — the emotion is acknowledged and the action is the main verb. "I feel very worried and do not know what to do" is the kind of response the Psych circles, because nothing in it tells them what happens next.

How does SRT differ from WAT in what it tests?

WAT is sampling your emotional vocabulary — the colour of your default mind. SRT is sampling your action vocabulary — the verb your mind reaches for when handed a problem. The two are read together. A candidate whose WAT is constructive and whose SRT is hesitant has a gap between attitude and action; a candidate whose WAT is anxious and whose SRT is decisive often gets the benefit of the doubt because the action wins.

I only finished 45 of 60 in my first practice. What should I do?

Almost always over-composing — writing four-sentence responses where two would do the same OLQ work. Cap your responses at two sentences in practice. Use the first sentence for the action, the second only if a consequence or follow-up needs to be named. Two or three weeks of timed practice typically lifts pace from 45 to 58. The fix is not to write faster; it is to write less.

If I am genuinely not sure what I would do, should I write what an officer would do?

Better to write what you would do and label it honestly. A response like "I am not sure I would step forward, but I would call the police and stay on the line" is more useful to the Psychologist than a borrowed model answer, because it gives them a candidate with a real boundary. Across 60 responses, repeated borrowing produces an unmistakable template voice. Repeated honesty produces a portrait.

Related SSB Topics

PsychologySSB Psychology Test — Hub Psychology TestTAT — Thematic Apperception Test Psychology TestWAT — Word Association Test Psychology TestSelf Description Test SSBSSB Interview — Complete Guide