CQ and Other Cultural Competencies

Other Inter-Cultural Competencies

There are many different concepts and measures of various inter-cultural competencies.

Some of these are well known and widely used. Some, however, mix ability, personality, and typical behaviors. Others lack a coherent theoretical foundation. Some are not validated by rigorous scholarly research.

Most important, none of these other concepts or approaches is based on the multiple intelligences literature.

Cultural Intelligence

Cultural Intelligence differs from these other concepts because:

• It has a strong theoretical foundation in the literature on multiple intelligences
  
• It focuses exclusively on individual capabilities

It does not mix capabilities, personality, attitudes, and behaviors
CQ can be enhanced by education, training, and experience

• It is based on rigorous academic research
• The measure is reliable and valid:
  ... across samples
  ... across time
  ... across cultures
• It can be applied in a wide variety of cultural contexts

It has relevance to international contexts and across-culture diversity
It has relevance to domestic contexts and within-culture diversity