Effects of Perceived Racism, Cultural Intelligence, and Personality: Student Characteristics and Views at an Evangelical Christian University

Abstract

Perceived racism has been characterized as the individual subjective experiences with racial discrimination that may include attributions and intentions of others. The present study was designed to ascertain the racial experiences at a mid-sized Christian university located in an urban area of the southeast, examining what factors may drive differences in perception and experiences. Perceived racism was measured using a brief version of the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire (PEDQ-CVB). Given our multi-ethnic community and a hypothesized role in perception, cultural intelligence was measured using the Cultural Intelligence Scale. Personality variables were considered using the HEXAC0-60, and participant resilience was measured using the Brief Resilience Scale. As expected, racial differences in perceived racism emerged with individuals identifying as Black scoring higher on the scales of the PEDQ-CVB than White individuals. On some scales Asian/Pacific Islander respondents reporting lower levels of perceived discrimination than White individuals. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that cultural intelligence and some but not all personality factors accounted for a sizable proportion of race-associated variance in PEDQ-CVB full and subscale scores. Resilience was not associated with perceived ethnic discrimination. However, higher levels of resilience were associated three personality characteristics-Agreeableness and Extraversion, and inversely related to Emotionality. The implications of the results for contemporary discussions on race-related issues are discussed.

Examining the Effect of Five-Factor Personality Traits on Cultural Intelligence

“…One of these strategies is the concept of CI, which is the ability to manage cultural differences and adapt to new cultural environments. CI emerges as the linchpin for effectively overseeing work teams originating from diverse cultural backgrounds, facilitating the adept recognition, comprehension, and collaboration with individuals spanning various professional groups (Compton, 2021;Kement et al 2019;Chedru and Ostapchuk, 2023;Şahin et al, 2014;Butkoviç et al, 2019;Huff and Gresch, 2014). Culturally intelligent people are able to communicate effectively with individuals belonging to different cultural background.…”

“…The shows research that FFPT has a significant positive effect on CI. For example, FFPT such as extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness and openness to experience have a significant effect on CI and its dimensions Compton, 2021;Kement et al 2019;Ang et al, 2006;Kour and Sharma, 2017;Pelit et al, 2020;MacDonald, 1998;Bezirgan et al, 2015;Yılmaz and Kaya 2015;Shu et al, 2017). Nel et al, (2015) examined a study to determine the relationship between personality, identity, and CI among 252 students studying in South Africa.…”