Intercultural competence and social attitudes towards foreigners are increasingly important in the modern (working) life. The current study investigated intercultural competence in relation to international experience and its effect on national identity and xenophobia. The current chapter shows that certain characteristics of an interculturally competent personality relate to international experiences and predict social identity and xenophobia. The results emphasize the importance of intercultural competence for a work environment coined by tolerance and diversity.
1 Introduction
Due to the demographic change and the ongoing processes of globalization, societies and organizations are characterized by an increasing ethnic heterogeneity. On the one hand, educational stays abroad are becoming more and more important to obtain career and options (Steele & Abdelaaty, 2019). On the other hand, increasing societal diversity creates pressure to deal effectively with diversity and to cultivate a good diversity culture, both ideally characterized by low xenophobia (Stegmann et al., 2012). As a consequence, organizations appreciate educational stays abroad, seeing it as a key premise for making future employees interculturally competent and being able to contribute to a good diversity climate (Green et al., 2011). Thereby, employees as well as students judge the acquirement of a positive intercultural attitude as being the most important regarding (international) success. However, the relationship between experiences abroad, intercultural competence and xenophobia remains under-researched.
There is strong empirical support for the theory that negative attitudes towards outgroups (e.g., foreigners, individuals from other cultures) are mostly grounded in processes related to social identification (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Consequently, potential effects of intercultural experience on xenophobia are expected to depend on the national identity, as it reflects a part of the social identity. The central questions of the study at hand are in how far intercultural competence depends on actual international experience and whether the national identity influences the relationship of intercultural competence and xenophobia. The following section explains the terms culture, intercultural effectiveness and Intercultural Competence, which leads to the hypotheses of the study at hand.
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2 Theoretical Background
2.1 Culture, Contact, and Intercultural Competence
Culture, according to Thomas (1993, p. 380, transl. by the author), is defined as a “universal, but for a society, organization and group very typical orientation-system”. This orientation system influences the perception, thinking and acting of all members of the particular culture and is grounded in the human need for social orientation and structure (Thomas & Utler, 2012). In an intercultural situation, the orientation systems of both interaction partners are active, but often do not provide sufficient orientation and knowledge regarding the behavior of the interaction partner. Known values, norms and behavior patterns fail as standards of evaluation and provoke adverse reactions and misunderstandings as well as uncertainty, stress and conflicts between different orientation systems (Thomas, 2003; Thomas & Utler, 2012). As a consequence, an interaction partner’s unexpected behavior is often projected on him/her as a personal misbehavior (Thomas, 2006; Thomas & Utler, 2012).
In spite of numerous studies, there is consensus on the overarching definition of intercultural competence as the “ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations based on one’s intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes” (Deardoff, 2006, p. 247 f.). The nature of intercultural competence has been discussed quite controversially (for a comprehensive overview of influential theories in this research area, see Schnabel et al., 2015; Genkova, 2019). However, an outstanding number of research (Genkova et al., 2021; Kowalski et al., 2016; Leone et al., 2005; Tracy-Ventura et al., 2016) has shown the conceptual validity and predictive power for intercultural interaction and performance of the “Multicultural Personality Questionnaire” (MPQ) by van der Zee and van Oudenhoven (2001).
The MPQ operationalizes intercultural competent behavior as an expression of a multicultural/intercultural personality, which is comprised of five relatively stable traits (cultural empathy, openness, social initiative, emotional stability, and flexibility). In its structure the MPQ is comparable to the Big-5 personality traits in such that the traits have been adapted to intercultural settings. Cultural empathy describes an individual’s perception and understanding of the feeling, thinking, and acting of individuals from other cultures. Individuals with high expressions on the dimension openness are described by an open and unprejudiced attitude towards new impressions and the experience of otherness. Social initiative refers to the active shaping of social situations by frequently taking the initiative in interactions. Emotional stability describes the ability to remain calm and experience low levels of stress even when facing challenging situations, for example, an intercultural misunderstanding. Individuals with high flexibility manage to adapt on a behavioral level to new situations, contexts, and requirements (van der Zee et al., 2013). The degree of intercultural competence after an educational stay abroad has been shown to correlate positively to satisfaction with the journey as well as performance abroad (D’abate et al., 2009; Narayanan & Olk, 2010).
The MPQ dimensions have been developed to provide a predictor for intercultural performance, which should be stable over time (van der Zee & van Oudenhoven, 2001). Nevertheless, there is empirical support that individuals develop a more competent acting as well as their underlying personality characteristics through intercultural experiences (Genkova et al., 2021; Tracy-Ventura et al., 2016). Although character traits are rather stable determinants of human behavior, Zimmermann and Neyer (2013) demonstrated that studying abroad for one year made people more open, agreeable and less neurotic. Other studies showed those effects to be most likely independent of the cultural distance between host- and home-country (Mapp, 2012; Genkova & Kruse, 2020).
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Even though the idea of stronger cultural differences leading to stronger psychological effects seems plausible and has been theorized several times (Wolff, 2017). Tracy-Ventura et al. (2016) argued that such changes in personality might be achieved by experiencing meaningful interaction situations. Thereby, certain behavior is required in order to succeed, leading to a stronger “social investment” (Roberts et al., 2005) in behavior linked to more favorable personality traits. Through trial-and-error, individuals not only evolve their behavior while staying abroad but also their personality (Genkova et al., 2021). In line with Zimmermann and Neyer (2013) we assume that this process takes some time and thus expect significant differences in intercultural competence between people who stayed abroad for more and less than a year.
Hypothesis 1: Individuals who experienced long-term stays abroad (more than a year) show higher values of intercultural competence than individuals without such experiences.
2.2 Intercultural Competence and Xenophobia
A core process to develop intercultural competence is reflecting on the perception of diversity and the personal attitude towards the outgroup. During a stay abroad, people frequently interact with individuals from another social group. The Social Identity approach (combining Social Identity and Social Categorization Theory Tajfel 1972; Tajfel & Turner, 1979) states that people categorize themselves and others into meaningful groups. Individuals develop their own social identity and define themselves based on their group memberships accordingly (van Dick, 2001). The categorization and thus the self-perception of identity have been shown to vary in salience, depending on the importance of the respective categorization dimension and situational cues (Hogg, 2016). Further, people strive to have a positive social identity. That is, members of the own group, the ingroup including oneself, are rated better compared to relevant outgroups in terms of meaningful traits and attributes. This process is quite essential, since people strive to belong to a certain group and thus secure their psychological well-being (Berry et al., 2006). As an undesirable consequence stereotypes and xenophobia can emerge if negative characteristics are attributed to certain categories. However, an effective intercultural communication and diversity culture can be obtained, as long as existing, yet mostly unconscious categorizations are critically reflected and scrutinized by individuals.
One way to improve intergroup relations is the approach of “decategorization”, that is, the dissolution of categories (reduction of salience) and the resolution of the division in “us versus them”. Therefore, learning to interact on an interpersonal rather than on an intergroup level and thereby developing new impressions connected to respective outgroups and associated individuals is crucial (Kessler & Mummendey, 2007). According to Pettigrew’s (1998) “reformulated Contact Hypothesis” (based on “the nature of prejudices” by Allport et al., 1954) intergroup contacts are most effective if certain processes happen in an ideal sequence. Pettigrew and Tropp (2008) demonstrated in a meta-analysis that intergroup contact typically reduces outgroup prejudice. Additionally, they showed that the reduction of negative attitudes through intergroup contact is mediated by enhanced knowledge about the outgroup leading to reduced intergroup fear and increased empathy for the outgroup. The reported effects are closely related to the MPQ dimensions openness and social initiative (actively seeking for information and gaining unprejudiced knowledge), emotional stability and flexibility (experiencing less intergroup fear and less bad experiences due to maladaptation) and empathy (relating to the empathy path), thus, a linear negative relationship between students’ intercultural competence and xenophobia is assumed.
Hypothesis 2: High values of intercultural competence predict low xenophobia.
During individuals stay abroad, not only their personality and attitudes are likely to change. Individuals who move from one cultural environment to another are faced with the decision between two cultures (see Chapter 2.3.3). Thus, relations to members belonging to the ingroup and relations to members of the outgroup are put to the test (Phinney, 1990).
Miller et al. (2009) conceptualized a model of polycentric identity, which does not consider a dichotomous decision to be “black or white”, but acknowledges individuals’ capability to switch between cultures regarding their behavior. Individuals with a polycentric identity describe themselves as members of multiple groups, for example, German, teacher, footballer and European instead of mentioning only the dominant aspect of their identity. Polycentric identity is an important factor in creating social networks beyond group boundaries (Van der Zee & Van Oudenhoven, 2013).
Considering the social identity approach, it becomes clear that national identity plays a central role in the development and reduction of xenophobia (Van der Zee & Van Oudenhoven, 2013). According to Berry (2011), intercultural competence is linked to the development of one’s national identity due to the process of gaining competences. He suggests that people who develop intercultural competence are more likely to experience national identity as less important after stays abroad because of the development of their personality. However, as intercultural competence is affected not only by identity development, we assume that intercultural competence uniquely contributes to xenophobia even when controlled for national identity.
Hypothesis 3: Intercultural Competence is related to xenophobia, even when controlled for national identity.
3 Method and Sample
The study at hand followed an online cross-sectional design and was distributed via e-mail. The participants followed a link leading them to the online platform LimeSurvey that allows quick and easy transmission of data into SPSS. Participants were informed that the study was anonymous and participation was voluntary. Prior to data collection, participants gave consent to use their anonymized data for scientific purposes. The first part of the questionnaire assessed sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, migration background, studying yes/no, if no, participants were excluded from the sample) and possible stays abroad including the duration.
Multicultural competence was measured with the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) by van der Zee and van Oudenhoven (2001). The MPQ consists of 91 5-point Likert scale items, 17 to 20 items for each sub-scale. Cultural empathy refers to the willingness and ability to empathize with the attitudes, feelings, thoughts and behavior of people from other cultures (e.g., “I try to understand others opinions” Cronbach’s α = .81). People with high scores on openness have an unbiased attitude towards members of other cultural groups, new ideas and approaches (e.g., “I like to get in contact with others” Cronbach’s α = .85). Emotional stability implies to be able to cope with hassles of external and internal conflicts in the course of intercultural interaction (“I'm often nervous” Cronbach’s α = .89). The scale social initiative describes the tendency to act and approach people rather than to wait in intercultural settings (“I usually wait until others come up to me” [reverse] α = .83). The flexibility scale refers to the willingness to adapt own behaviors to new circumstances (“I'm fascinated by new technical developments” Cronbach’s α = .79).
Xenophobia was assessed via 8 questions on a 4-point Likert scale from a shortened version of the scale for the Student Survey of the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (Schülerbefragung des Kriminologischen Forschungsinstituts Niedersachsen) (Strobl & Kuehnel, 2000). Internal consistency was sufficient with Cronbach’s α = .84.
To measure national identity, the scale of Wenzel et al. (2003) was used. The scale assesses national ingroup identification via four 7-point Likert scales (e.g., “I like being German” α = .78).
In total, 235 students aged between 19 and 29 years (M = 21.2 years, SD = 3.02) of different disciplines participated in the study. More female (n = 140) than male students (n = 95) completed the questionnaire. 153 participants were born in Germany whereas 82 migrated to Germany.
4 Results
To test whether individuals that had been staying abroad differed in their intercultural competence from individuals that never had experienced a longer stay abroad (Hypothesis 1), t-tests were conducted. Results showed that individuals with and without international experience differed significantly in their expression of openness and emotional stability. Individuals with international experience reported higher scores on openness while the emotional stability of individuals without a stay abroad was higher. No differences on the dimensions cultural empathy, social initiative, and flexibility were found. Table 1 displays mean values and results of the t-tests for each dimension.
Table 1
Mean value comparison for the dimension values of intercultural competence regarding individuals with and without international experience
High intern. Exp. (N = 122)
Low intern. Exp. (N = 113)
t-test for the equality in mean values
AM
SD
AM
SD
t
df
sig.(2-sided)
Cultural Empathy
4.00
0.45
3.90
0.50
1.13
235
n.s
Openness
3.79
0.45
3.59
0.47
2.43
235
p < .05
Emotional Stability
3.06
0.57
3.14
0.60
0.77
235
p < .05
Social Initiative
3.52
0.59
3.47
0.53
0.48
235
n.s
Flexibility
3.18
0.45
3.13
0.49
0.51
235
n.s
To test Hypothesis 2 (High characteristic values for intercultural effectiveness predict low xenophobia) a multiple regression analysis with the intercultural personality traits as predictor and xenophobia as criterion was conducted. Statistical requirements of homoskedasticity and normal distribution of residuals were fulfilled.
Results of the regression analysis showed that intercultural competence significantly explains 35 % of variance in xenophobia (R2korr = .34). Flexibility showed the strongest negative relationship to xenophobia. Individuals who considered unknown situations as a challenge were more likely to be able to experience less intergroup fear and reported less bad experiences due to maladaptation, which in turn reduced their xenophobia levels. In addition, we obtained a negative relationship between the dimension openness and xenophobia. The results revealed positive relationships between xenophobia and social initiative and emotional stability, respectively (Table 2).
Table 2
The relationship between the dimension values of intercultural competence and xenophobia
Cultural
Empathy
Openness
Emotional Stability
Social Initiative
Flexibility
Xenophobia
β = −.107
n.s
β = −.209
p < .05
β = .254
p < .05
β = .273
p < .05
β = −.397
p < .001
Hypothesis 2 was partially confirmed. Openness and flexibility predicted a positive attitude towards individuals with a migration background. However, a possible skepticism towards individuals with a migration background can be linked to the dimensions emotional stability and social initiative.
Hypothesis 3 (Intercultural Competence has a relationship to xenophobia, even when controlled for national identity), was tested via a structural equation model (Fig. 1), containing the five MPQ dimensions and national identity as independent latent variables and xenophobia as dependent variable. The overall model showed a good fit for the data, indicating that the suggested structure fits the relationships within the data (χ2 = 1.24; df = 1; p = .27; CFI = .98; RMSEA = .053 (LO90 = .00: HI90 = .30)). For the dimension social initiative, the model was not confirmed. The results showed a negative relationship with xenophobia for the dimensions flexibility (β = −.39**), social initiative (β = −.27**) and emotional stability, (β = −.23**) when controlled for national identity. However, the dimensions cultural empathy and openness were not significantly related to xenophobia when national identity was taken into consideration.
Fig. 1
The relationship between dimensions of intercultural competence, national identity and xenophobia
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5 Discussion, Limitations and Conclusion
The aim of the study at hand was to contribute to the understanding of the effects of intercultural competence on xenophobia while taking international stays and national identity into account. Results confirmed that certain characteristics of an interculturally competent personality relate to international experience as well as to xenophobia.
The observed differences between participants who stayed more and less than one year abroad in the regards to openness are in line with previously mentioned research of Zimmermann and Neyer (2013) as well as Genkova et al. (2021). According to Roberts et al. (2003) a combination of motivation and personality development may explain this change. The researchers showed in a study with 910 young adults that personality factors motivating a person for a certain experience abroad often represent key factors that develop the strongest during these experiences: “[…] the traits that people already possess will be deepened and elaborated by trait-correlated experiences” (Roberts et al., 2003, p. 592).
The low value of the characteristic emotional stability for individuals with international experience in comparison to those not having experienced a stay abroad was very evident in the current study. It might be that if not yet confronted with stressful situations, individuals hypothetically impute greater abilities to themselves than they would actually show. Thus, a person, who did not live abroad, was possibly exposed to less stressful and emotionally straining situations and therefore estimates his/her emotional stability as being stronger compared to a person already having experienced cultural uncertainty (Wolff, 2017). The personal assessment of one’s own emotional stability might changes due to a stay abroad. The confrontation with a foreign culture without appropriate preparation possibly leads to a culture shock, triggering stress and emotional uncertainty difficult to overcome. Consequently, emotional stability might be reduced long-term. However, this result is quite surprising and should be further examined in future studies.
Results provide evidence that high values in emotional stability, social initiative and flexibility are related to less xenophobia when taking national identity into account. In contrast, it is surprising that cultural empathy and openness showed no significant effects. Moreover, in the uncontrolled regression model, individuals with high values in the personality dimensions emotional stability and social initiative showed even higher levels of xenophobia. The latter observation can be traced back to the fact that active, initiative behavior in social situations and emotional stability are two characteristics amongst others, related to a feeling of unease regarding foreigners. This attitude might have it roots in a high self-focus and a strong ingroup identification, whereby one’s heritage and bonds to the home country are referred to as “the ultimate benchmark”. Therefore, from an ethnocentric perspective, less appreciation is shown towards individuals with a migration background. The result that the positive relationships changed to negative when controlled for national identity supports this assumption.
A recent study showed that xenophobia of german participants relates to both outgroup orientation and national identity, respectively, with outgroup orientation being significantly predicted by the MPQ (Genkova & Grimmelsmann, 2020). Results strongly indicate that on the one hand MPQ and national identity are independent predictors of xenophobia and that outgroup orientation might mediate the relationship between MPQ and xenophobia. Future studies ought to investigate this relationship in more detail.
However, it is possible that the unexpected positive relationship between social initiative and emotional stability with xenophobia is connected differences in the migration background. In the study at hand, we did not take this background into account. As the effect changed when controlled for national identity, it is likely that those participants who did not feel as Germans did not longer affect the relationship of the personality traits and xenophobia. This indicates that further research is needed in order to investigate the relationship of personality, stays abroad and identity of migrants in Germany.
The results of our study confirm the relevance of intercultural competence for a work environment that is coined by tolerance towards diversity. At the same time, it was demonstrated that intercultural competences only provide the expected positive effects, when the social identity of the individual is polycentric.
Since individuals with international experience hold a stronger value of the characteristic openness, this characteristic relates to a tolerant, positive attitude towards individuals with a migration background. Especially regarding to diversity management, students and employees should be supported to complete stay abroad. To avoid uncertainties and negative effects of experience abroad in terms of emotional stability, stays abroad should always be accompanied by formal learning processes, for example, intercultural training. Thus, the opportunity to reflect one’s experiences is provided and in turn effects of a culture shock might be reduced and intercultural learning processes promoted.
A limitation of the current study is that for the investigated sample, relatively low values for xenophobia and medium to relatively high values of intercultural competence could be identified, which might explain the positive relationship between social initiative, emotional stability and xenophobia. Furthermore, the analyses considered both, people with and without stays abroad. Moreover, the sample was relatively homogenous, which was reflected in the similarities of the traits. None of the individuals reached maximum values on the personality sub-dimensions of intercultural competence. However, almost all values were above the scale mean. This ceiling effect might lie in the tendency of social desirability which in turn affected participants’ answers. In addition, the measurement of xenophobia not only showed very low values but also indicated some difficulties. The extremely xenophobic statements in the questionnaire seemed to have a deterrent effect on the target group. The wording of the questions was possibly not politically correct enough for a sample with such a comparably high level of education. For the target group under investigation, one can assume of slight rejection of foreigners, rather than fully developed xenophobia. This is also supported by the result that predominantly positive emotions were communicated towards individuals with a migration background. Yet, individuals with migration background were not seen as equals by everyone. Probably xenophobia could be revealed more clearly with the help of less harsh questions. By doing so, a more adequate measurement of the so-called “modern prejudices” (Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995) might be constructed.
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