The Service Selection Boards (SSBs) spread across the country follow certain unique techniques designed on strong psychological foundation. Their primary job is to recommend candidates suitable to be appointed as Officers in the three wings of the armed forces. The three-tier selection system which the SSBs follow are timetested and result of continuous research and evaluation by a large number of competent scientists belonging to the prestigious Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR ) and many serving officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The validity and reliability of various tests used in the SSB in particular and the selection system in general are so objective and scientific that it is one of the best in the world today. In the Service Selection Board, a candidate is assessed by three independent assessors using three independent assessment tools, almost parallel. The three techniques are: (a) Psychological Test Series (b) Group Test Series (c) Personal Interview. In the next two or three issues of The Career Guide, Group Testing Techniques will be discussed extensively. Candidates appearing in SSB are advised to derive maximum benefit from these articles.

PRINCIPLES OF GROUP TESTING

First of all, we need to know why group testing is so important for the Armed Forces, particularly, the Army. In this organisation, people are selected and trained in a group.

They eat, sleep, fight jointly at the border and also die for one another in a group. The unique nature of the work culture in the Armed Forces justifies the importance of Group Testing as well as group behaviour. Through these tests, the Group Testing Officer (GTO) tries to find out whether an excellent individual possesses excellent team spirit as well. Qualities like, initiative, team mindedness, ability to influence, lead, cooperate, adjust etc are of paramount importance.

The group testing technique followed in SSB is based on sound psychological principles, by virtue of which it has been working as a valid instrument of assessment. The GTOs employed in the task of assessment in the SSBs are expected to study these principles which strengthen their faith in the technique – both from theoretical and practical point of view. The psychological principles on which the group testing technique is based are (a) Social Field theory (b) Gestalt school of thought (c) Consistency (d) Group development (e) Group dynamism (f) Free association (g) Sociometry

In a leaderless group, consisting of unknown members, charged with high spirit of competition, each candidate is given fair and ample opportunity to display his or her leadership qualities and all other traits showing his/her ability to be an effective member of the group. The golden principle being, first obey then command, the candidates are put under observation to find out whether they are good followers. A good follower is only expected to be an effective leader. When a person (candidate) is exposed to an absolutely new environment, consisting of unknown members, the first requirement is adjustment to the environment. This adjustment has two components:
(a) how well and (b) how quickly.

Once the person is well adjusted to the new environment and group, the next observation would be to find out whether he/she has the ability to influence the group and its members.  If yes, it is to be seen (a) how well (b) how quickly (c) for how long. The assessor basically wants to find out how each individual behaves in a social group dealing with people and problems. He would also be keen to find out how each candidate influences others and gets influenced by others in a corporate group life.In order to observe and assess various components of group behavior, the GTO applies the following tests:-
(a) Group discussion (GD).
(b) Group planning exercise (GPE).
(c) Progressive group task (PGT).
(d) Group obstacle test/race (GOR).
(e) Half group task (HGT).
(f) Lecturette (LEC).
(g) Individual obstacles (IO).
(h) Command task (CT).
(i) Final group task (FGT).

Though all the above tests form part of Group Testing, some of the tests are individual in nature. Tests like individual obstacle, lecturette and command task are more ‘individual’ then ‘group’ test. In case of group planning exercise (GPE), half the test is individual and the other half is group. The candidate is asked to prepare his individual plan and submit the same to the GTO. Thereafter, he is expected to discuss his plan in the group.

Similarly, in case of lecturette, one candidate at a time is asked to speak on a topic for a period of three minutes. Though the candidate presents a short lecture in front of the group, he is not expected to interact with the group.  Individual obstacle, on the other hand, is purely an individual test. In this test, each candidate is asked to complete ten obstacles within a period of three minutes. The obstacles differ in nature and physical difficulty requiring physical ability like leaping, rope climbing, balancing etc. Each candidate obtains individual scores depending upon his / her performance. The guiding principle in this test is, the more difficult the obstacle, the greater the number of points allotted to it. These obstacles are not arranged in their numerical order but are mixed and the candidates are allowed to start from any where they want and tackle them in any order they like. A candidate is allowed to repeat the obstacles of his/her choice after completing all the obstacles once. The candidate is permitted to earn additional points by virtue of such repeating performance.