Understanding Cultural Intelligence

What does it mean to be intelligent? Pass a logic test? Solve an equation? Have a good memory? Intelligence has long been reduced to an IQ score. However, as early as the 1920s–1940s, American psychologists such as Edward Thorndike, Louis Thurstone and Raymond Cattell were already emphasizing the existence of different forms of intelligence.

In the 1980s, it was another American psychologist Robert Sternberg who proposed an approach which distinguished three complementary dimensions: analytical intelligence (reasoning, comparing, solving problems), creative intelligence (imagining, coping with novelty) and practical intelligence (adapting to one's environment, acting effectively). According to his approach, being intelligent is above all knowing how to achieve your life goals, in a given context, by mobilizing your strengths and compensating for your weaknesses.

Interact in multicultural environments

It is in the continuity of Sternberg's work that the notion of cultural intelligence emerged, or cultural intelligence (QC). Proposed by Earley and Ang in 2003, it refers to the ability to understand cultural differences, to adapt to them and to interact effectively in multicultural environments. The initial goal was to explain why some expatriates are more successful than others on international assignments. Researchers have thus identified four complementary dimensions of cultural intelligence.

The metacognitive dimension corresponds to the ability to become aware of one's own cultural biases and to adjust one's way of thinking and interacting according to the context. For example, a French manager may be used to expressing criticism in a very direct way. Faced with interlocutors from a cultural context where these are formulated in a more implicit way, he understands that this style can be perceived as too abrupt. He then reviews his approach to facilitate cooperation.

The cognitive dimension refers to general knowledge about other cultures, their norms and practices: knowing, for example, that in Japan exchanging a business card follows a precise ritual, that in Germany any delay is perceived as a real lack of respect or that in the United States the small talk during a meeting is an essential step before getting to the heart of the matter.

The motivational dimension reflects the desire and confidence necessary to interact with culturally different people. We find it, for example, among students who voluntarily choose to join an international team even if this will require more communication efforts.

Finally, the behavioral dimension refers to the ability to concretely adapt one's verbal and non-verbal behaviors during an intercultural interaction. This may involve slowing down your speech rate, modulating the tone of your voice or even adjusting the distance with your interlocutor, depending on the cultural context.

An essential skill

Much research confirms the positive effects of cultural intelligence. For example, it helps expatriates better adapt and reduce their anxiety, it improves the leadership and performance of multicultural teams, or it stimulates cooperation and innovation by facilitating knowledge sharing.

First designed to support executives on assignment abroad, cultural intelligence is today recognized as an essential skill in many contexts: at work, at school, but also in daily life, wherever people from different cultures mix.

Research also shows that this skill can be learned and developed. Intercultural training, whether through courses, role plays or simulations, helps to better decode cultural differences. That said, it is especially immersive experiences that prove to be the most effective: multicultural team projects or international stays strengthen cultural intelligence in a lasting manner.

What a study of engineering students reveals

Cultural intelligence concerns the vast majority of students, called upon to learn and work in multicultural environments. It is with this in mind that we conducted a study with internationally mobile engineering students to understand how this experience could strengthen their cultural intelligence.

Concretely, we assessed their cultural intelligence using a scientifically recognized questionnaire administered twice: before their departure and upon their return from mobility. This longitudinal methodology makes it possible to compare initial and final levels and to measure the evolution of the different dimensions of cultural intelligence.

The results are clear: international mobility significantly improves cultural intelligence, especially among those who had traveled little before or who were not spontaneously open to other cultures. In other words, the more “novice” you are, the more you progress. This is what we call “the first time effect”: during a first prolonged contact with another culture, everyone is led to revise their points of reference.

These results have direct implications for the training of engineering students. International mobility is not just an asset to highlight on a CV: it is a unique opportunity to develop transversal skills that are now essential in the world of work. Employers expect their employees to be not only technically competent, but also able to adapt to multicultural environments and cooperate effectively across borders.

Our results are in the same direction as other research which shows that cultural intelligence goes far beyond the framework of stays abroad. It promotes peaceful coexistence by reducing prejudices, it helps to better cooperate in work or studies, and finally, it prepares everyone to evolve in international environments. Schools and universities play a key role: by developing these skills, they help to train more adaptable professionals, but also to build a more inclusive society.