Personality Traits as Indicators of the Development of Intercultural Communication Competence

This paper draws on a PhD thesis that investigates the relationship between personality traits and Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC). This research explores if specific personality traits of international students can enhance the success/failure of ICC development and in how far can specific personality traits influence the ability of international students to communicate effectively in an intercultural context. It presents a case study on 95 international undergraduates studying in Saudi Arabia. Based on the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of Personality, Assessment of Intercultural Competence (AIC) to measure participants’ ICC and the International Personality Item Pool IPIP-NEO-120 to identify their personality traits of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, were administered to explore the relationship between personality traits and ICC. It found that Openness and Conscientiousness had a positive correlation with ICC with while Neuroticism negatively correlated with ICC. It also found no correlation between Extroversion and Agreeableness and the development of ICC