Karen I. van der Zee

The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire: A multidimensional instrument of multicultural effectiveness

In todays global business environment, executive work is becoming more international in orientation. Several skills and traits may underlie executive success in an international environment. The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire was developed as a multidimensional instrument aimed at measuring multicultural effectiveness. The questionnaire has scales for Cultural Empathy, Openmindedness, Emotional Stability, Orientation to Action, Adventurousness/Curiosity, Flexibility, and Extraversion. In a study among a student sample (N =257) the reliability and validity of the inventory were examined. The internal consistencies of the developed scales were high, with the exception of Openmindedness and Flexibility. On the basis of factor analysis and the pattern of intercorrelations four reliable higher‐level dimensions were distinguished: ‘Openness’, ‘Emotional Stability’, ‘Social Initiative and Flexibility’. The correlations between these dimensions and related instruments were in the expected direction. Moreover, the data supported the predictive value of the instrument of multicultural activity and its incremental value above the Big Five in predicting international orientation and aspiration of an international career. The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire may be used as an instrument for the selection of expatriates or as a diagnostic tool for assessing further training needs. Copyright

Determinants of intercultural adjustment among expatriate spouses

Abstract The adaptation of expatriate families to a host country seems crucial to successful fulfilment of international business assignments. The present study focused on personality, family characteristics and characteristics of expatriates’ work life as determinants of the intercultural adjustment of expatriate spouses. Among a sample of 247 expatriate spouses it was first shown that in particular the traits of open-mindedness and emotional stability were associated with expatriate spouses’ adjustment. In addition, family cohesion and family adaptability were found to have an impact on the spouses’ adjustment. Of the work related variables, both support from the company and work satisfaction were related to indicators of adjustment. These effects sustained after controlling for the influence of demographic variables such as duration of expatriation, command of the local language, having visited the country prior to relocation and economic situation that were also found to contribute to spouses’ adjustment. The implications of these findings are discussed.

The Influence of Social Identity and Personality on Outcomes of Cultural Diversity in Teams

The present study examined the influence of social identity and personality on work outcomes among business students who worked together in culturally diverse teams. As predicted, a negative effect of identification with one’s cultural background and a positive effect of identification with the team on well-being were found under conditions of high diversity. For commitment, the same pattern of findings was obtained, but now the impact of identification with the team was found regardless of the level of diversity. No support was found for strong positive outcomes associated with the case in which individuals identify with the team and with their cultural background.With respect to personality, the intercultural traits of Emotional Stability and Flexibility were found to have a positive effect on work outcomes under conditions of high diversity. Interestingly, whereas Flexibility had a positive effect on exam grades under conditions of high diversity, a negative effect of this trait was found under conditions of low diversity.

Validation of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire in the context of personnel selection

The present data provide support for the reliability of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire among a sample of job applicants (n=264). Factor analysis confirmed five factors: Cultural Empathy, Open‐Mindedness, Social Initiative, Flexibility, and Emotional Stability. Moreover, the data largely support the construct validity of the MPQ. Correlations with the Big Five were in the expected direction, and as predicted, Cultural Empathy and Social Initiative were both positively related to socially oriented vocational interests and Flexibility to artistic interests. Against our predictions, Cultural Empathy, Open‐Mindedness, and Flexibility appeared to be related to verbal intelligence. A comparable pattern of relations of the Big Five with intelligence and vocational interests was found. Finally, the MPQ scales predicted variance in an indicator of overall behaviour above the Big Five, supporting its incremental validity. Copyright

The Induction of Shared Identity: The Positive Role of Individual Distinctiveness for Groups

This article examines inductive processes of social identity formation, the bottom-up processes by which individual group members influence a social identity, integrating it with work on entitativity. Three studies tested the prediction that feelings of individual distinctiveness mediate the relation between inductive social identity formation and entitativity and that entitativity in turn predicts identification. The studies provided consistent support for this theoretical model over alternative models, using a range of different social groups and methods. Study 1 found support for the model in self-selected small groups. Study 2 supported it with a much broader set of groups that were not self-selected. Finally, Study 3 varied levels of inductive social identity formation systematically by varying group size and provided direct support for the hypothesized causal relations.

Attachment styles, personality, and Dutch emigrants ' intercultural adjustment

The present study examines the relationship of adult attachment styles with personality and psychological and sociocultural adjustment. A sample of 847 first‐generation Dutch emigrants filled out measures for attachment styles, the Big Five, and indicators of psychological and sociocultural adjustment. Positive relationships were found between Secure attachment on the one hand and psychological and sociocultural adjustment on the other. Ambivalent attachment was strongly negatively associated with psychological adjustment. Dismissive attachment was mildly negatively related to sociocultural adjustment. Significant relations were found between attachment styles and the Big Five dimensions, particularly Extraversion and Emotional Stability. The attachment scales were able to explain variance in sociocultural adjustment beyond that explained by the Big Five dimensions. Intercultural adjustment is discussed from a transactional view of personality. Copyright

Neuroticism and social comparison orientation as moderators of affective responses to social comparison at work

In a study among 72 nurses, the affective consequences of social comparison were examined and related to neuroticism (N) and to social comparison orientation (SCO). Participants were confronted with a bogus interview with an upward versus a downward comparison target. Positive affect and identification were higher, and negative affect was lower, in the upward than in the downward comparison condition. Independent of their SCO, the higher individuals were in N, the less they identified with the upward comparison target, the more they identified with the downward comparison target, and the less positive affect they showed following confrontation with the upward comparison target. In contrast, independent of their level of N, the higher individuals were in SCO, the more negative affect they showed following confrontation with the downward comparison target. The effects on negative affect stayed the same when controlling for positive affect, and the effects on positive affect stayed the same when controlling for negative affect. These effects were also obtained when perceived direction was used as a predictor instead of the experimentally manipulated direction. It is concluded that, although N and SCO are correlated, these variables seem to have independent and distinct effects upon the responses to social comparison information.

Multicultural Personality Questionnaire: Development of a Short Form

This study reports on the development of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire–Short Form among 511 participants. Using a split-sample scale validation design, Study 1 (N = 260) employed a principal component analysis and rigorous item selection criteria to extract a 40-item short form (MPQ–SF) from the original 91-item Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; van der Zee & van Oudenhoven, 2000, 2001). In Study 2 (N = 251), the MPQ–SF was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and resulted in a reasonably good fit to the data (comparative fit index = .94; root mean squared error of approximation = .066). Satisfactory coefficient alphas and high correlations with the original scales were found. Moreover, relationships with related scales were largely in the predicted direction. Specific directions for follow-up research are posited.

Culture Shock or Challenge? The Role of Personality as a Determinant of Intercultural Competence

This paper provides a theoretical basis for the empirical link between traits and intercultural success indicators relying on the A (Affect) B (Behavior) C (Cognition)-model of culture shock. With respect to affect, we argue that intercultural traits can be differentiated according to whether they predispose individuals to be (in-)sensitive to either threat or challenge. Whereas stress-related traits (emotional stability, flexibility) are linked to a lower tendency to perceive an intercultural situation as threatening, social-perceptual traits (social initiative, open-mindedness) may predispose individuals to perceive its challenging aspects and respond with positive affect. As a behavioral consequence, stress-buffering traits may protect against culture shock, whereas social-perceptual traits may facilitate cultural learning. Finally, the ABC-model defines cognitions in terms of associated cultural identity patterns. Whereas stress-related traits may help individuals refrain from sticking to one’s own culture, social-perceptual traits reinforce identification with new culture. Implications for training and development are discussed.This paper provides a theoretical basis for the empirical link between traits and intercultural success indicators relying on the A (Affect) B (Behavior) C (Cognition)-model of culture shock. With respect to affect, we argue that intercultural traits can be differentiated according to whether they predispose individuals to be (in-)sensitive to either threat or challenge. Whereas stress-related traits (emotional stability, flexibility) are linked to a lower tendency to perceive an intercultural situation as threatening, social-perceptual traits (social initiative, open-mindedness) may predispose individuals to perceive its challenging aspects and respond with positive affect. As a behavioral consequence, stress-buffering traits may protect against culture shock, whereas social-perceptual traits may facilitate cultural learning. Finally, the ABC-model defines cognitions in terms of associated cultural identity patterns. Whereas stress-related traits may help individuals refrain from sticking to one’s own culture, social-perceptual traits reinforce identification with new culture. Implications for training and development are discussed

Let it be: expatriate couples' adjustment and the upside of avoiding conflicts

This research examines the moderating effect of conflict avoidance on the relationship between conflict and psychological adjustment among 45 expatriate couples at two points in time. We propose a model based on the actor–partner interdependence model, which assumes both intrapersonal and interpersonal effects, to address simultaneously the effects of ones own and the others avoidance behavior. We found substantial support for our model, especially for expatriate spouses. As expected, and only for expatriate spouses, avoidance moderated the conflict–adjustment relationship such that both ones own and ones counterparts avoidance behavior diminished the negative effect of conflicts. Because these effects were observed only at T2 and psychological adjustment decreased from T1 to T2, our research suggests that the impact of expatriation-associated interaction particularly manifests itself in the long run.