In this article, you are going to learn about CSS Psychological Test or Assessment which is a very important phase of CSS Exam. You have already learnt about CSS Written Test and CSS Medical Test in previous articles. CSS Psychological Test is also a very crucial stage which aims to test your critical thinking, intelligent quotient and personality by taking various tests.
Types of CSS Psychological Test:
- Written Test
- Group Discussion
The following is a brief explanation of the tests that you are expected to experience:
Intelligence Test
Intelligence test measures different strengths in a candidate and these are conducted in multiple-choice questions (MCQs) format. There are selective types of ability tests, but the most regularly used in the recruitment process are described below.
Abstract Ability
Mostly called a Conceptual Reasoning Test, aims to determine your ability to swiftly identify the relationship between the patterns, logical rules and integrate this information to find the solution. You will be granted with sets of shapes having a logical relationship. Your task is to identify the most fitting shape that comes next in the order from the choices provided.
The test is meant to assess your aptitude in quickly analyzing new information and thinking strategically to solve puzzles.
Verbal Ability
This test points to measure your ability to understand and communicate information by challenging you to identify word similarities or synonyms/antonyms, etc.
Numerical Ability
The numerical ability test measures your capability to use and understand information or scenario that is shown to you in basic numerical form for making the best choices. All the tasks are to be performed within the allocated time. Therefore, you have to work as quickly as possible, since, most questions and tasks start easy and progressively get more challenging.
Personality Test
These tests are meant to assess and predict your primary personality traits such as Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeability, Neuroticism along with your confidence, maturity level, enthusiasm, ability to deal with stress and solve different difficulties, your administrative, management and leadership qualities.
Tip: Don't try to be over smart, be yourself.
Personality Trait Questionnaire
There are two types of personality Trait questionnaires:
In which you have to give your answer is “yes or no” format.
The other will consist of open-ended questions whereby you will be needed to specify your preferences, likes, dislikes, interests, etc.
Story Writing
Here you will be given an indefinite black-and-white picture of human life and will be told to write a story.
It is necessary to assume that you are to tell a story and not simply describe the picture.
The story should contain these four elements:
- i. Current situation (What’s going on in the picture?)
- ii. Thoughts and feelings of the characters. (What are they thinking/feeling?)
- iii. Past events (What happened before? What led to the current situation?)
- iv. Outcome (How does the story end?) Story writing is considered a method of exposing unconscious needs, motives, dominant drives, emotions, sentiments, hang-ups and oppositions of personality.
Sentence Completion
You will be asked to complete some sentences by adding missing words from them.
For example:
I like……
I regret………
Back home…………
The happiest time…………
I want to know………
It is thought that the individuals would consider their desires, wishes, fears & beliefs fulfilment of sentences.
Autobiography
It’s a brief story about the life of a person written by himself. I call it how you introduce yourself to anyone on a written piece of paper. Your writing should be so well-organised that examiner should be excited to meet you in a one-to-one interview.
In the autobiography, you are expected to write aspects of your life story, which may cover:
Birthplace to Elementary School Years
Family – Immediate (Parents, Siblings, Children); Extended (Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc.)
Courtship/Marriage
Culture
College/University/Education Years
Special Occasions
Career/Work Years
Hobbies/Vocational Activities
Sports/Recreation Activities
Places Lived
Accomplishments — Awards / Honours Received
Spiritual Journey
Military Service/Volunteer Activities
Lessons from Life, etc.
Command Task
The basic purpose of the command task is to judge your leadership qualities, management skills and decision-making power beside with the level of confidence and maturity that you own.
You shall be given a situation in writing and you will be asked to analyze the situation/problem and come up with a proper solution within 15 minutes. You will be asked to lead a meeting while acting in a certain position (e.g. DCO, IGP, SSP, etc.) concerning the situation that has been provided to you and to accomplish the goal of the project.
Examples:- As a DCO, how would to deal with a protest of nurses?
- How would you react as a Foreign Minister to the terrorist attack on the British Embassy?
- A person died in police custody and the local people are angry and want SHO dismissed. Being SSP, what would you do?
Group Discussion
- The meaning of group discussion is to judge personality — confidence, assertiveness, vocalisation, knowledge and your ability and skills required to work with others — within the allocated time.
- This holds two group discussions — one in Urdu and one in English — on usual topics over which you would be expected to make suggestions and give your judgment while giving equal opportunity to fellow candidates to speak and express their views.
Precautions
- Avoid religious statements and personal comments.
- Be relevant and to the point, don’t get off the track during the discussion.
- Don’t use English words in Urdu discussion and vice versa.
- Let the other person conclude the statement and then speak.
- Never interfere with the other person while (s)he is giving his/her point of view.
- Avoid being the last person to talk on problems under discussion and if you do, be very attentive and logical.
Interview with Psychologist
The same day, after the group session is over, you will meet a panel of psychologists for a brief interview who at the end will prepare a collaborated report on the information you have provided about your personality, ability and aptitude in the 2-day activity.
You may be asked a series of questions for providing additional information about yourself, justifications for the preferences that you have mentioned in your written personality tests and to clear any ambiguity if encountered in your writing. You may also be asked about your opinion on various social and political scenarios happening both in Pakistan and on the international level.
