2023 · GS Paper 4 · Q4(a) · 10 marks
"What really matters for success, character, happiness and lifelong achievements is a definite set of emotional skills — your EQ — not just purely cognitive abilities that are measured by conventional IQ tests." Do you agree with this view? Give reasons in support of your answer.
In short
Emotional skills largely decide success, character, happiness and lifelong achievement, though cognitive ability remains a necessary threshold, so the two are complements. The Dunedin study (2011) found childhood self-control predicted adult health, wealth and freedom from crime independent of IQ.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 280 words
Success at work
Satya Nadella's empathy-led culture reset at Microsoft from 2014 turned a rivalrous firm collaborative.
Character
Enron's executives, "the smartest guys in the room", ran the fraud that sank the firm in 2001, showing intellect without restraint.
Happiness
The Harvard Study of Adult Development, running since 1938, found warm relationships the best predictor of health and happiness in old age.
Lifelong achievement
The Dunedin study (2011) found childhood self-control predicted adult health, wealth and freedom from crime, independent of IQ.
Threshold ability
Schmidt and Hunter (1998) found general mental ability the strongest single predictor of job performance.
Overstated evidence
A 2018 re-run of the marshmallow test found its predictive power shrank sharply once family background was controlled.
Complementarity
After the 1979 SLV-3 failure, Satish Dhawan took the blame and in 1980 gave Kalam the credit, pairing brilliance with maturity.
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This chapter in the exam
Emotional intelligence — Concepts7 questions
Asked in 5 of 14 sittings since 2013
- 2020'Hatred is destructive of a person's wisdom and conscience that can poison a nation's spirit.' Do you agree with this view? Justify your answer.
- 2020What are the main components of emotional intelligence (EI)? Can they be learned? Discuss.
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2023 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.