Investigating the Effect of Anxiety, Uncertainty and Ethnocentrism on Willingness to Interact in an Intercultural Communication

Abstract

The current research aims to explore the effect of low or high perceived predictability and anxiety on willingness to interact with a person from another cultural group. How differences in anxiety, both individual (trait anxiety) and intergroup (anxiety specifically related to an interaction), influence willingness to engage within an intercultural communication is investigated. In addition, the contribution of ethnocentrism to willingness to interact is explored. Anxiety, uncertainty, and ethnocentrism are all important factors that negatively affect willingness to interact in an intercultural communication. Yet to date, anxiety and uncertainty have been examined separately to ethnocentrism in the literature. The current study found that an anxiety-provoking intercultural interaction has a negative impact on willingness to interact with an intercultural interaction partner. Perceived predictability alone was not found to affect willingness to interact, contrary to previous research, with results suggesting that intergroup anxiety may be a better predictor of willingness to interact than perceived predictability and trait anxiety. Overall results indicate that anxiety and uncertainty are separate but related constructs in support of current theoretical models. Ethnocentrism was shown to uniquely contribute to willingness to interact. This novel finding indicates the importance of cultural factors on willingness to engage in intercultural communication and points to the need for further research to explore the impact of cultural values on these relationships.

Ethnic status and engagement with health services: Attitudes toward help-seeking and intercultural willingness to interact among South East Asian students in Australia

“…These findings support the theoretical work of Gudykunst and colleagues: anxiety and uncertainty reduce willingness to engage in intercultural communication and the perceived effectiveness of communication when it does occur (Gudykunst, 2005; Gudykunst & Nishida, 2001). Our research extended this by demonstrating that reduced likelihood of engaging in intercultural communication was not only associated with trait anxiety but reduced in settings associated with increased state anxiety, underscoring the importance of the context in promoting intercultural communication (Logan et al., 2014a).…”

Predictors of Preference for the Exported Campus Model of Study Abroad

“…Ethnocentrism is a predictor of participation in study abroad (Goldstein & Kim, 2006) and of willingness to interact with culturally different others (Logan, Steel, & Hunt, 2015), in that it may result in the tendency to "...intentionally circumvent communication with persons of different cultures" (Neuliep, 2002, p. 203). Students with higher levels of ethnocentrism may see less value in learning about the cultural practices of others, particularly if it involves a challenging, immersive situation.…”

Increasing cultural awareness: qualitative study of nurses’ perceptions about cultural competence training

“…A lack of cultural understanding increases negative attitudes towards cross-cultural care and also affects healthcare professionals’ perceived preparedness to take care of culturally diverse patients [8]. Moreover, anxiety about interacting with people from different cultures has an influence on a person’s level of engagement in intercultural communication [9]. And when combined with uncertainty, it further decreases effective communication and can lead to the increased use of stereotypes [10].…”