Van der Zee et al – Culture Shock or Challenge? The role of personality as a determinant of
intercultural competence
Because of globalization individuals must be increasingly able to effectively deal with cultural
differences. Personality seems to be an important predictor of an individual’s success of dealing with
intercultural situations. It shows the perception of intercultural situations being a threat or not, and
whether individuals are capable of constructive behavioral reactions to such situations.
In this research a distinction is made between five personality traits of relevance to success in
intercultural context:
1. Cultural empathy: empathizing with the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals from
a different culture. High score = easily understand rules of cultures.
2. Open-mindedness: an open and unprejudiced attitude towards cultural different. High score
= able to postpones their judgment.
3. Social initiative: a tendency to actively approach social situations. High score = demonstrate
initiative in cultural interaction.
4. Emotional stability: ability to stay calm under novel and stressful conditions. High score = not
scare away in intercultural situations characterized by high uncertainty and lack of control.
5. Flexibility: switch easily from one strategy to another. High score = attracted to unknown and
new situations
=Relevance: little is known about the underlying mechanism that are responsible for such effects. A
theoretical basis will be provided for these findings by linking the intercultural personality approach
to the A (affect) B (behavior) C (cognition) – model of culture shock.
Dealing with intercultural situations
The relevance of the Five-Factor model to success of expatriates is often used: extraversion,
agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and intellect/autonomy – also referred to as
openness to experience. High scores on the Big Five often relate with better adjusting to new cultural
contexts.
=Relevance: But, the FFM is not specifically attuned to behavioral tendencies that are relevant in
intercultural situations. This research is departed from the assumption that traits that are specifically
linked to critical behaviors in an intercultural context are better able to predict outcomes in such
situations as compared with more general traits; see above.
Results studies in five traits and Big Five
1: the traits emotional stability and social initiative were not able to predict additional variance about
the five general traits, whereas the remaining traits did explain unique variance.
2: cultural empathy and open-mindedness were least predicted by the Big Five, whereas emotional
stability and flexibility were best predicted by the five general traits). Apparently, cultural empathy
and open-mindedness are more culture-specific, as compared with other traits.
Study five dimensions and intercultural success
The predictive value of the five traits has been established for three criteria that are theoretically
linked to intercultural success: professional performance, personal adjustment, and social integration.
In total, there is substantial evidence that intercultural traits are predictive of success in an
intercultural context. Moreover, personality as a coping resource may be exchangeable among
individuals within families.
Underlying Theoretical Mechanisms
Only a few studies have focused on the underlying processes that are responsible for the positive
relationship between traits and indicators of intercultural success. The research aims to provide
theoretical framework for the relationship between personality and intercultural success by linking
their intercultural personality approach (five dimensions) to the ABC-model of culture shock by Ward
intercultural competence
Because of globalization individuals must be increasingly able to effectively deal with cultural
differences. Personality seems to be an important predictor of an individual’s success of dealing with
intercultural situations. It shows the perception of intercultural situations being a threat or not, and
whether individuals are capable of constructive behavioral reactions to such situations.
In this research a distinction is made between five personality traits of relevance to success in
intercultural context:
1. Cultural empathy: empathizing with the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals from
a different culture. High score = easily understand rules of cultures.
2. Open-mindedness: an open and unprejudiced attitude towards cultural different. High score
= able to postpones their judgment.
3. Social initiative: a tendency to actively approach social situations. High score = demonstrate
initiative in cultural interaction.
4. Emotional stability: ability to stay calm under novel and stressful conditions. High score = not
scare away in intercultural situations characterized by high uncertainty and lack of control.
5. Flexibility: switch easily from one strategy to another. High score = attracted to unknown and
new situations
=Relevance: little is known about the underlying mechanism that are responsible for such effects. A
theoretical basis will be provided for these findings by linking the intercultural personality approach
to the A (affect) B (behavior) C (cognition) – model of culture shock.
Dealing with intercultural situations
The relevance of the Five-Factor model to success of expatriates is often used: extraversion,
agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and intellect/autonomy – also referred to as
openness to experience. High scores on the Big Five often relate with better adjusting to new cultural
contexts.
=Relevance: But, the FFM is not specifically attuned to behavioral tendencies that are relevant in
intercultural situations. This research is departed from the assumption that traits that are specifically
linked to critical behaviors in an intercultural context are better able to predict outcomes in such
situations as compared with more general traits; see above.
Results studies in five traits and Big Five
1: the traits emotional stability and social initiative were not able to predict additional variance about
the five general traits, whereas the remaining traits did explain unique variance.
2: cultural empathy and open-mindedness were least predicted by the Big Five, whereas emotional
stability and flexibility were best predicted by the five general traits). Apparently, cultural empathy
and open-mindedness are more culture-specific, as compared with other traits.
Study five dimensions and intercultural success
The predictive value of the five traits has been established for three criteria that are theoretically
linked to intercultural success: professional performance, personal adjustment, and social integration.
In total, there is substantial evidence that intercultural traits are predictive of success in an
intercultural context. Moreover, personality as a coping resource may be exchangeable among
individuals within families.
Underlying Theoretical Mechanisms
Only a few studies have focused on the underlying processes that are responsible for the positive
relationship between traits and indicators of intercultural success. The research aims to provide
theoretical framework for the relationship between personality and intercultural success by linking
their intercultural personality approach (five dimensions) to the ABC-model of culture shock by Ward
