Self-perceived linguistic progress, target language use and personality development during study abroad

This exploratory study investigates the development of personality dimensions related to multicultural effectiveness and its relation to amount of target language use and self-perceived progress in speaking during a sojourn abroad in seven European countries. The participants were 59 Swedish and Belgian university students. The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire – Short Form (van der Zee, Van Oudenhoven, Ponterotto, & Fietzer, 2013) was administered at the beginning and the end of the semester, and data on self-reported weekly hours of target language use and self-perceived linguistic progress were gathered at Time 2. The main findings are the observed moderate or near moderate correlations between self-perceived progress in speaking and change in Cultural Empathy, and between amount of target language use and change in Cultural Empathy and Openmindedness. This points to the relevance of further studies on the role of target language use and progress in the development of personality characteristics.

Is Multicultural Effectiveness Related to Phrasal Knowledge in English as a Second Language?

The present study investigates the role of personality in language learning, with a special focus on the association between multicultural effectiveness and phrasal knowledge in L1 Dutch L2 English learners in Belgium (n=97). Results from the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) (five personality dimensions) were associated with results from a rational cloze test, measuring productive phrasal knowledge. In addition, scores from grammar proficiency tests were also included, since language proficiency is known to be a strong predictor for phrasal knowledge. A regression analysis revealed significant associations between phrasal knowledge and the personality dimensions Flexibility and Openmindedness, when grammar proficiency was controlled for. This study adds to the growing body of evidence of associations between phrasal knowledge and personality, encouraging researchers to pursue this avenue with learners from different L1/L2 pairings, in different contexts of L2 acquisition.

Experience Abroad and Its Relation to Intercultural Competence and Cross-Cultural Tolerance

Successfully managing diversity is becoming more and more important in today's working environment. In this context, the development of intercultural competencies is of significant importance. The presented study gives an overview of the relationship between dimensions of multicultural effectiveness and two factors that are relevant in diversity settings: xenophobia, and international experience. It is shown that, while sole personality dimensions only have limited impact on a positive attitude towards persons with a migration background, a multicultural personality, as a whole, is very important in this context. Furthermore, a person with international experience shows higher values in open-mindedness, but is often also characterized by a lower degree of emotional stability.

The Voice of William Glasser: Accessing the Continuing Evolution of Reality Therapy

On August 23, 2013, the voice of William Glasser, MD, became silent. His life was characterized by his mission of teaching the ever-evolving ideas originating in his work in corrections and mental health. He taught what he called “internal controls”: Although human beings are influenced by their environment and their previous relationships, they need not remain powerless and victimized by forces beyond their control or by their past history. Rather, they choose most of their current behaviors, especially their actions. Reality therapy is a system that counselors use to liberate clients and help them make realistic choices to more effectively satisfy their needs within their limitations. The evolution of reality therapy has covered not only its theoretical basis, choice theory, but more recently its links with mindfulness, neuroscience, and especially its formulation as the WDEP (Wants, Doing, Evaluation, Planning) system. A growing body of evidence illustrates the widespread use and multicultural effectiveness of Dr. Glasser's legacy—reality therapy.

Relevance Of Cultural Intelligence And Communication Effectiveness For Global Leadership Preparedness: Study Of Indian Managers

Business environment world over has undergone major transformation in the last fifty years. Global organisations, where operations are not restricted to home or host country, need business leaders with a global mindset and multicultural effectiveness. This paper examines and confirms the relevance on leadership preparedness of global managers of two important constructs – cultural intelligence and communication effectiveness in the context of anxiety and uncertainty management. Adding to extant literature, the study empirically confirms the suitability of three assessment instruments. It establishes the importance of cultural adaptability and AUM theory for assessing leadership potential of managers working in multicultural environments with culturally diverse teams. The objective of this study is to understand the relevance of cultural intelligence and communication effectiveness for leadership preparedness in a multicultural environment. The present century is seeing accelerated transformation of businesses into truly global entities. As organizations operate in a boundary-less world, multicultural teams are the order of the day. Business leaders, who are able to understand, accept, and effectively respond to cultural differences are therefore in great demand.

Assessing Multicultural Effectiveness Among Young Swiss People

The present paper examines the reliability and validity of the French-language version of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) among young participants (N = 7,180) in French-speaking Switzerland. Consistent with previous research ( Van der Zee & Van Oudenhoven, 2000 , 2001 ; Van der Zee, Zaal, & Piekstra, 2003 ), exploratory analysis in one subsample confirmed the presence of the five factors underpinning the MPQ: Open-Mindedness, Cultural Empathy, Emotional Stability, Social Initiative, and Flexibility. Confirmatory factor analyses in a second subsample and in the total sample further confirmed the same five-factor structure. This model was modified to include correlated residuals between items with high semantic proximity. This final model obtained a satisfactory fit to the overall data. We conclude that the French version of the 37-item MPQ scale can be used to examine the attitudes associated with multicultural effectiveness in French-speaking populations.

Global Leadership: A Developmental Shift for Everyone

Global leaders operate in a context of multicultural, paradoxical complexity in the world—a context that most leaders find themselves facing today. We argue that 4 developmental shifts are required to be effective in this context: developing multicultural effectiveness, becoming adept at managing paradoxes, cultivating the “being” dimension of human experience, and appreciating individual uniqueness in the context of cultural differences. Challenges for industrial–organizational (I–O) psychology are identified in each area. The article concludes by inviting I–O psychologists to integrate competing frameworks, explore related disciplines, revamp leadership competency models, create new tools and frameworks for developing global leaders, and step up to become global leaders ourselves.