Since childhood, we have heard about the intelligence quotient, but it takes more than that to make improved decisions, manage relations and adapt to difficult situations

According to psychologists, there are four types of intelligence: Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Emotional Quotient (EQ), Social Quotient (SQ), and Adversity Quotient (AQ). Each of them plays a crucial role in our lives and thus, should be given equal importance.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is a measure of a person’s reasoning ability. It is supposed to gauge how well someone can use information and logic to answer questions or make predictions. It is the score derived from a set of standardized tests developed to measure a person's cognitive abilities ("intelligence") in relation to their age group.IQ tests begin to assess this by measuring short- and long-term memory. They also measure how well and quickly people can solve puzzles and recall information they have heard or read about.

Emotional intelligence (known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence helps you build stronger relationships, succeed at school and work, and achieve your career and personal goals. It can also help you to connect with your feelings, turn intention into action, and make informed decisions about what matters most to you. Emotional intelligence can provide a significant advantage for mastering our emotions. 

Social Quotient refers to a person’s ability to understand and manage interpersonal relationships. It is distinct from a person’s IQ or “book smarts.” It includes an individual’s ability to understand, and act on, the feelings, thoughts, and behaviours of other people. This type of intelligence can take place “in the moment” of face-to-face conversations but also appears during times of deliberate thinking. It involves emotional intelligence and self-awareness. Social intelligence include knowing when totalk or listen, what to say, and what to do. Timing is a bigpart of social intelligence.Social intelligence helps individuals build relationshipsand is important to numerous aspects of a person’s life. Itallows an individual to form friendships and alliances. And,it assists a person against being taken advantage of. It builds over time and as a person ages. 

 Adversity Quotient (or Adversity intelligence) measures the ability of an individual to manage the equilibrium of mental state in adverse situations of life as well find the solutions of coming out of it. It helps us to face and overcome changes and adversities while turning them into opportunities for greater achievement. People with high AQs perceive themselves with significant control in adverse situations, hold themselves accountable for dealing with various situations, keep setbacks in their place, and stay positive. AQ is associated with grit, fortitude, stability, strength, resilience, persistence, tenacity, and self-sufficiency. Covid-19 has led to the surge in the cases of depression and suicide during the lockdown. But as the unlocking has been started, so how to adapt physically and mentally during the period of the unlocking phase of Covid-19; how to manage stress about how life would be after the lockdown in the new normal depends on the Adversity intelligence of an individual. Coping with adversities and being resilient is an essential life skill which everyone needs to learn. Having a strong AQ is important for our well-being and it also prevents the onset of mental health problems as well. There are also claims that enhancing AQ can result in gains in productivity, Capacity, performance, innovation and morale.

For a long time, it was believed that having a good IQ (Intelligence Quotient) was the only measure of success which is not at all true in today’s time. To be successful, a person needs to have good attributes of IQ (Intelligence quotient), SQ (Social Quotient), EQ (Emotional Quotient) and AQ (Adversity Quotient). IQ is largely what you are born with. Genetics play a large part while Social intelligence (SI), Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Adversity Intelligence, on the other hand, is mostly learned. They develop from experience with people and learning from success and failures in social settings. It is more commonly referred to as “tact,” “common sense,” or “street smarts.” As we all know, it is the smartest people who are the most successful or the most fulfilled in life. People who are academically brilliant but are socially inept are usually unsuccessful at work or in their personal relationships. Thus, people who have higher EQ and SQ  tend to go farther in life than those with high IQ but low EQ and SQ. Most schools capitalise on improving IQ level while EQ and SQ are not given much importance. It is very important for children to explore other areas of life than just academics. In this rapidly-changing world, the available opportunities and the skills in demand have also changed. The skills of yesterday are no longer enough for the jobs of the present and will definitely not be for the future. Parents should prepare their kids from an early age for a well-rounded future. The need of the hour is to move beyond rote learning and develop skills of critical and creative thinking.    For overall development, and the education system needs to focus on nurturing all the bits of intelligence, resulting in higher IQ, SQ, and EQ which will enable children to venture into the area that interests them the most. It will expand their horizons, offer more opportunities, especially when the existing roles require multiple skills.

Also, it’s important to teach and make kids learn to deal with adversity so that they prepare for the future lying ahead of them. Life keeps coming at us and there is no possible way for challenges or adversities to end. Hence, a good way to do battle this is to teach them to be resilient. Emotionally strong and resilient kids also have a better grip at dealing with trauma and are less likely to suffer from deficits when they grow up. Parents have a big role to play. When parents are anxious or upset, this transfers down to the child. It’s important to play a supportive role and be there for your child when they need you, have a strong emotional connect with them. Empower them to overcome challenges on their own. In today’s time stress has increased and we must teach our children to manage their stress from the beginning, so that they have complete control over their emotions from going astray in their future life. Thus, the other three kinds of intelligence are important to be developed in children along with the constant expectations of society to be academically brilliant.                                                        

Focusing on improving IQ, SQ, EQ and AQ at an early age in school would mean creating well-rounded individuals who are not only good at their work but also have the ability to be great leaders and innovate.