Multicultural personality and effectiveness in an intercultural training simulation: The role of stress and pro‐active communication

• Published in: International journal of psychology Vol. 55; no. 5; pp. 812 - 821
• Main Authors: Hofhuis, Joep, Schilderman, Marike F., Verdooren, Arjan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.10.2020; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Communication; Emotional instability; Intercultural communication; Intercultural training; Multicultural personality; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Personality; Personality tests; Personality traits; Pro‐active communication; Regular Empirical; Simulation; Stress; Pro-active communication; Intercultural training; Multicultural personality; Stress; Intercultural communication
• ISSN: 0020-7594; 1464-066X
• DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12647

Multicultural personality traits have been shown to predict intercultural outcomes in a range of settings. However, how these traits affect behaviour during intercultural interactions remains an understudied area. A study was conducted among participants in intercultural training sessions, to examine whether scores on the five dimensions of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) could predict how they performed in the intercultural simulation game “Barnga.” Both a self‐rating and other‐rating of intercultural effectiveness were included. Furthermore, we examined whether perceived stress and pro‐active communication played a mediating role. Results of Latent Growth Curve Modelling (LGCM) show that emotional stability has a positive effect on mean scores (intercept) of both self‐rated and other‐rated outcomes, mediated through perceived stress. Social Initiative has a positive effect on the rate of improvement (slope) in other‐rated outcomes during the simulation, mediated through pro‐active communication.