Chapter 2: How To View, Study, & Analyse The Image
In this second chapter, we will understand how to view an image and then in the next chapter we will learn how you are supposed to write a story, what should be the body and the structure of the story.
I’ve already explained to you in the previous chapter that the images which are shown to you in TAT are a mixed bag. 2-3 of them are of factor 1, 2-3 of them are of factor 2, 2-3 are of factor 3 and 2-3 are of factor 4.
When it comes to viewing an image, there are three components in an image which you should pay close attention to: figure, background and hint. Let us understand about these three components in detail.
1) Figure: The first component you should pay attention to is figure. Figure means human beings. Try to gain as much understanding as you can about the human beings shown in the image. From the visible image, can you understand what is their age? Can you understand what is their qualification or level of education? Can you understand what is their occupation? Can you understand what is the cultural background of the characters being shown to you? Are they from rural area, urban area? Do they belong to one particular part of the country? From the image, can you understand about the location? Does it look like the setup is of a rural area, urban area, or any one particular part of the country? Try to see if you can understand what is the relation between the various characters being shown in the image. Do they look like family members? Do they look like friends? Do they look like neighbours? Do they look like office colleagues? Does it look like a
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client and chartered accountant relation? Does it look like a doctor patient relation? Does it look like a police and criminal relation? Try and understand this as the first step towards studying and analysing the image. Then try to see their mood. Are they happy? Are they angry? Are they sad? Are they depressed? Are they excited? Try to understand if you can see what is their financial level. Are they rich? Are they poor? Are they middle class? This way try to gain as much understanding as possible about the human beings shown in the image.
2) Background: The second component you should pay attention to is the background. Once you are done with studying all you can about the human beings in the image, then try to understand what is the background that is visible in the image. Does it look like they are sitting inside a home and talking? Does it look like a restaurant in the background? Does it look like a principal’s office or a government officer’s office? Or a high-ranking officer of private sector? Does it look like there is an open field in the background? Or are there snowcapped mountains in the background? Is there a river flowing in the background? Are there valleys in the background? Whatever you can understand about the background, pay close attention to that. See if there is anything written anywhere. For instance, in the figure 2.1 in this chapter, you can see there is students want written on it. So, all these things are designed to give you a good hint, a good understanding about what should be the theme of the story. Once you’re done with this, then comes the most important part, and that is hint.
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Figure 2.1
3) Hint: The third and the most critical component of the image is what I call the hint. In simple language, you can say that hint is something which is added in the image to help you. It is there to help you and not to confuse you. It is there to help you channelize your thoughts in the right direction so that you are able to write a story around the theme which the image is based on. Hint can be in the form of an object or it can even be in the form of a human expression or gesture. At times it can even be in the form of something written in the image somewhere. At times, it can be in the way the characters are dressed.
Hint can be added in many different ways in the image. At times, for instance, there can be graphs in the background. Many times this image comes in thematic apperception test that has a scene of an office meeting going on and there are graphs in the background. It is
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clearly arranged to help you think that it’s definitely some discussion going on around sales or something to do with profits or losses.
We need to understand one very important fact here about why and how the images are designed for TAT. Every image comes to check something specific in the candidate. Every image is designed with the purpose of gauging the candidate on certain specific parameters. Every image is designed with a very precise purpose of checking certain specific qualities in the candidate. The figure, background and hint are designed keeping in mind the quality to be checked through that particular image. Let us understand this in a little detail with the example of the image in figure 2.1.
In the image shown in the figure 2.1, you can see that the main object is the banner which the students are holding for protest. Apart from the students, there is one person walking towards them and he has got his hands raised. If you think about it carefully, you will realise that the image has come to check your conflict mitigation skills. Viewing and analysing this image carefully will help you understand that the story should revolve around resolution to the reason of the protest. What solution will the candidate come up with regarding the protest will show his effective intelligence as well as reasoning ability. Both of these qualities come under factor 1. Hence, it can be safely said that this image has come to check factor 1 in the candidate. Also, the qualities like initiative and moral courage will get reflected in the story because whatever steps the central character will take to address the grievances which have caused the students to protest, will require him to initiate as well as execute a plan of action and a strategy. Initiating this plan of action will show initiative. Overcoming the challenges and hurdles in executing the plan of action will show his moral courage. I
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am sure now you must have understood how just because an image predominantly belongs to 1 particular factor doesn’t mean it will not gauge other qualities. The other qualities get reflected as a by-product of how the story is written.
I am sure I have given an adequate explanation and analysis about how the 3 components of figure, background and hint are designed to help candidates channelise their thoughts in the right direction so that the relevant qualities which the image has come to gauge, will get reflected if the candidate indeed possesses those particular qualities.
In the next chapter we will study how the candidates should connect the 3 components of figure, background and hint and weave a story having a body and a structure which helps display the qualities being gauged through that particular image. The chapter will help us understand how should we create the structure and the body of the story.
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