Intercultural Competence Profiles in Russian University Students

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of intercultural competence (ICC) as a psychological phenomenon including the analysis of its models, factors, and profiles. The results of an empirical study in two major multinational Russian universities (388 students, of which 254 young women and 134 young men) are presented. The aim of the study was to identify the typological profiles of the ICC and their characteristics in relation to personality traits. ICC was studied based on the "Dynamic model of intercultural sensitivity" by M. Bennet. The author's modification of the "Scale of intercultural sensitivity" by O.E. Khuhlaev and M.Y. Chibisova in the adaptation of Y.A. Lopashenko was used for the ICC diagnostics. Personality traits were considered in the framework of the Five-Factor Model (P. Costa and R. McCrae) and were measured by a short form of the "Five-Factor Questionnaire" in Russian adaptation by M.V. Bodunov and S.D. Biryukov. We identified four ICC profiles of students provisionally called "ethnocentrists", "negativists", "undecided (ambivalent)", and "ethnorelativists". It is shown that the profiles differ not only in the correlation between the severity of parameters of the ICC, but also in personality traits. The results can be used for the design of ICC development and formation programs, based on the identified psychological specifics of ICC profiles.

Ethno-National Attitudes as Intercultural Competence Predictors in University Students: Gender Differences

“…The Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) by Khukhlaev and Chibisova [7] in Logashchenko' modified version [23] contains 51 items, which are grouped into four subscales (Minimization, Absolutization, Ambivalence, Acceptance), described in detail above. We used the author's modifications of this technique with the following changes [17][18][19][20]:…”

“…The ICC concept, in our opinion, is not only the most frequently studied, but also the broadest of the listed above. Therefore, in present and other of our publications on this topic, we use the term intercultural competence (ICC) in the broadest sense, as a generalizing definition of the phenomenon characterizing the personality activity in a multicultural environment towards the different aspects of intercultural diversity and dialogue [17][18][19][20].…”

“…Recently, in Western psychology, the influence of different personality traits on the ICC and related concepts has been actively studied [13,15,[43][44][45][46]. In our previous research [17][18][19][20], we mainly investigated the personality factors of the ICC, considered on the Five-Factor Model (FFM) by McCrae and Costa [47,48]. We found that the majority of FFM personality traits correlate with the ICC indicators in Russian university and school students [17][18][19].…”

“…In our previous research [17][18][19][20], we mainly investigated the personality factors of the ICC, considered on the Five-Factor Model (FFM) by McCrae and Costa [47,48]. We found that the majority of FFM personality traits correlate with the ICC indicators in Russian university and school students [17][18][19]. Namely, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness are positively associated with Acceptance; extraversion and agreeableness with Ambivalence; and agreeableness with Absolutization in university students [17,19].…”

“…We found that the majority of FFM personality traits correlate with the ICC indicators in Russian university and school students [17][18][19]. Namely, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness are positively associated with Acceptance; extraversion and agreeableness with Ambivalence; and agreeableness with Absolutization in university students [17,19]. FFM personality traits, and above all conscientiousness and extraversion, are related to the ICC in secondary school students, but these relations vary in groups with different levels of intellectual development [18].…”