Word Association Test is one among the psychological tests conducted by SSB. It is conducted on the Day-2, Stage 2 of the psychological test after TAT. In this test, psychologist wants to know that how the candidate associates any word.This is based on the principle of the subconscious mind.When a particular word is shown to a candidate the first thought that will come to his mind is always based upon his past experience and his association with the word. In this test also, the psychologist judges the same qualities inside the candidates as that of TAT.
There will be 60 words in WAT. There is no fixed type of words. But usually whose types of words come in this test which we use in our day to day life. Here the time to write the complete sentence is very short .i.e. candidates will only get 15 seconds for reading the word from the screen & write complete sentence based on that particular word on the answer sheet provided to them. After 15 seconds, a new word will appear on the screen. The candidate has to repeat the same procedure & it goes on. 60 such words will appear on the screen. And remember at least 45 has to be attempted.
The time duration is kept so short for a particular reason – to get the true response out from the candidates. In this short time duration candidate will write the first thought that comes in his/her mind after reading the word on screen. That is his/her true response.
Here are some of the best tips to go for preparing and attempting the WAT:
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WAT is conducted to know your creative thinking and imaginative abilit, try to make your own sentences.
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Most important tip for WAT is to be honest and spontaneous.
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Do not give morals and advice in the sentences. Do not use less confident words like should, would, could, etc.
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Let your sentences be more positive and constructive in approach with practicality.
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Don’t repeat the same sentence for different words and don’t give remembered responses.
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Make logical, meaningful and grammatically correct sentence.
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Don’t use pronouns like he, she, they, etc as you are free to use ” I “.
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Don’t be under the impression that making sentences realated to defence will fetch you the credit as they show that your responses are not natural and spontaneous.
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Use clear and understandable handwriting.
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Don’t use any idioms or universal truth or famous quotes given by someone as it doesn’t reflects your response.
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Finally, practice to construct sentences related to social, economic and political & cultural field of the country.
Some examples are listed below for WAT for a clear understanding of how to attempt:
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Faithful: Be faithful to your parents.
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Echo: It echoed while he shouted.
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Courage: Anil fought his illness with great courage.
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Ragging: Ragging is a bad practice among college students.
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Welcome: Always welcome healthy habits.
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Execute: Project should be executed as per the plan. // No negative points should be written for “execute” as in ‘Ajmal Kasab was executed after four years’.
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Waste: Wasting water should be avoided.
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Ban: Burning of all types of plastics should be banned in India.
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War: Recently, there was a civil war in Syria.
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Food: Food is essential for life.
So now you know all the handy tips to get going your WAT smoothly, do practise WAT with these tips in mind. Good Luck!