Quick summary: A new study finds that personality type, specifically how people respond to change, shapes their ability to function across different cultures. People with adaptive and proactive personalities show higher cultural intelligence, while change-resistant individuals are most likely to struggle in diverse settings. The findings have practical implications for workforce placement, education policy, and the design of intercultural training programmes, suggesting that flexibility and initiative are traits worth actively cultivating in multicultural environments.
The ability to work and socialise across different cultures is increasingly important in a globalised world. A new study suggests that how people respond to change in general may be a key factor in whether they develop the cultural skills needed to thrive in diverse environments. The research was published in The Journal of Psychology.
Researchers from universities in the US and Saudi Arabia examined how different personality types relate to cultural intelligence, a term used to describe the ability to function effectively across cultural settings. Rather than relying on the well-known Big Five personality framework, the team focused on a newer model that categorises people according to how they approach change and how much control they seek over their surroundings.
Saleh Bajaba, PhD, associate professor at King Abdulaziz University and one of the study’s researchers, explained the motivation behind the work. “Surveying the literature, we noticed a clear gap: while the Big Five has long dominated personality research, the more specific work on how people respond to change has focused almost exclusively on proactive personality, leaving other response patterns largely unexamined.”
The study identified four personality profiles: proactive, adaptive, passive, and change-resistant. Proactive individuals tend to take charge of new situations, while adaptive people adjust their own behaviour to fit their surroundings. Passive individuals go along with change reluctantly, and change-resistant people actively push back against it.
Across a sample of 261 university students in a multicultural setting in the southern US, both proactive and adaptive personalities were linked to higher levels of cultural intelligence. Adaptive personality showed the strongest overall relationship, suggesting that people who adjust their thinking and behaviour to fit new contexts are particularly well placed to engage with different cultures. Change-resistant personality showed the most damaging effect on cultural intelligence, with passive personality having a weaker but still negative influence.
Bajaba noted a key methodological distinction in the findings. “Adaptive personality is the main driver of cultural intelligence on average, whereas Proactive personality operates as a necessary condition, a baseline without which high cultural intelligence rarely occurs. The takeaway is twofold: flexibility matters, but only when paired with active engagement.”
The findings build on earlier research that associated broad traits such as openness and extraversion with cultural competence. What matters, the researchers suggest, is not simply whether someone is generally open-minded, but whether they actively adapt or actively resist when things are unfamiliar.
The study was conducted with students rather than working professionals, which means the findings may not translate directly to high-stakes international work environments. The researchers acknowledged this limitation and called for future studies using more diverse and professional samples. Bajaba outlined the team’s next steps: “We plan to replicate this work with expatriates, global virtual teams, and internationally mobile professionals, where the stakes for cultural intelligence are sharper.”
For employers and educators, the findings point to the value of identifying personality profiles when placing people in culturally diverse roles. Encouraging initiative and flexibility, while providing structured opportunities for cultural learning, could help individuals with less adaptive tendencies develop greater cross-cultural competence over time.
