Linking personality to cultural intelligence : an interactive effect of openness and agreeableness

Li, Ming; Mobley, William H.; Kelly, Aidan

Abstract

The personality trait of openness is generally believed to influence an individual's cultural intelligence, which is an ability to deal effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds. This study examines whether a relationship between the two depends on the individual's degree of agreeableness, a personality trait important for building interpersonal relationships. Data collected from 244 international professionals shows that openness is positively related to three facets of cultural intelligence when agreeableness is high, but not when agreeableness is low. The findings suggest that research on personality and cultural intelligence would benefit from an interactive approach, and that assessment, selection and development of international talents should consider personality traits not in isolation, but in concert.

Citation

Li, M., Mobley, W. H., & Kelly, A. (2016). Linking personality to cultural intelligence : an interactive effect of openness and agreeableness. Personality and individual differences, 89(January), 105-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.09.050

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 29, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Oct 22, 2015
• Publication Date: 2016-01
• Deposit Date: Nov 3, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: Personality and individual differences
• Print ISSN: 0191-8869
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 89
• Issue: January
• Pages: 105-110
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.09.050
• Keywords: Cultural intelligence; Personality; Openness; Agreeableness; Trait interactions
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/380801
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886915006236
• Additional Information: Authors' accepted manuscript of article published in: Personality and individual differences, 2016, v.89.