The Effects of Cultural Competence Feedback on Intercultural Anxiety, Attitudes toward, and Willingness to Engage with International Students

Abstract

The study examined the effects of cultural competency feedback on domestic and international students’ intercultural anxiety, attitudes toward, and willingness to engage with international students. One hundred and sixty-one students (96 domestic, 65 internationals) completed a test of cultural competency and were randomly assigned to receive positive (top 25%) or negative (bottom 25%) fictitious feedback on their performance. Participants then completed measures of intercultural anxiety, attitudes toward international students, and self-reported willingness to engage with international students. Finally, students accepted or declined an invitation to learn more about participating in a buddy programme for international students at Victoria University of Wellington. It was hypothesized that those receiving negative performance feedback would have higher levels of intercultural anxiety and that this anxiety would partially mediate the effects of performance feedback on attitudes toward and willingness to engage with international students. It was also hypothesized that the effects of intercultural anxiety on attitudes and willingness to engage would be stronger for domestic, compared to international students. Preliminary analyses indicated that the performance feedback did not affect intercultural anxiety; although the manipulation checks showed that the participants could accurately describe their performance feedback, overall, students did not find the feedback credible. Controlling for age, gender, and previous intercultural contact, hierarchical regression analyses were performed to predict attitudes toward international students and willingness to engage (both self-reported and behavioural measures). The results revealed that beyond the control variables, intercultural anxiety was the only significant predictor of self-reported willingness to engage with international students. Performance feedback, student status (domestic/international), intercultural anxiety, and the interaction between student status and intercultural anxiety failed to predict attitudes toward international students and agreement to be contacted about the buddy programme. The implications of the presented findings are discussed, as well as limitations and future research directions advised.

Keywords: Cultural Competence, Intercultural Anxiety, Education, International Students