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Cultural Intelligence Scale

Screenshot of Cultural Intelligence Scale article reading: CHAPTER 2 Development and Validation of the COS The Cultural Intelligence Scale LINN VAN DYNE, SOON ANG, AND CHRISTINE KOH Cultural intelligence (CQ) is a theoretical extension of contemporary approaches to un- derstanding intelligence (Earley & Ang, 2003). CQ is defined as the capability to function effectively in culturally diverse settings. Traditionally, the study of intelligence focused mainly on "g," the academic or cognitive factor of intelligence. More recently, multiple intelligence theory (Sternberg, 1986, 1988) proposed nonacademic intelligences (Hedlund & Sternberg, 2000) that emphasize the capability to adapt to others. These newly recog. nized forms of intelligence include interpersonal intelligence (Gardner, 1993), emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995; Salovey & Mayer, 1990), and social intelligence (Cantor & Kihlstrom, 1985). Each of these formulations of intelligence, however, assumes that familiarity with culture and context guides individual thoughts and social behaviors. As elaborated in Earley and Ang (2003), these relatively general capabilities may not apply when individuals have different cultural backgrounds.

What is it and how does it work?

The Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) is a 20-item self-report rating scale that measures four dimensions of cultural intelligence: metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral (Dynne, Ang, & Koh, 2015). It has been validated for use with diverse college student populations (Bücker, Furrer, & Weem, 2016). 

Surveys may be administered multiple times in a semester to collect longitudinal data.

Which skill(s) are targeted?

The Cultural Intelligence Scale can be used to collect students' self-report ratings of their own skills in the following competency areas:

  • Explore how cultural contexts influence individual identity development 
  • Consider, examine, and integrate differences between individual positions and the positions of others in multiple cultural contexts.
  • Demonstrate an attitude of inclusion by engaging mindfully across a diversity of lived experiences

Who else has used it?

  • Core@CM, CMU-Q
  • Dietrich College General Education Program
  • Mellon College of Science Core Education Program

icon indicating less than 1 hour time commitmentEducator time commitment

15 minutes

icon indicating more than 1 hour time commitmentStudent time commitment

5 minutes

Contact eberly-assist@andrew.cmu.edu for help with incorporating this resource.

Educator how-to steps

  1. Download and review the Cultural Intelligence Scale.
  2. Decide when students should complete the Cultural Intelligence Scale and then include this in the corresponding assignments/instructions to students.
  3. Set up the assignment in Canvas (or as you normally would). NOTE: We have a Canvas assignment shell with the Cultural Intelligence Scale  that you can copy to your Canvas course. Contact eberly-assist@andrew.cmu.edu to ask for help with this.)

Reference

Bücker, J., Furrer, O., & Weem, T. P. (2016). Robustness and cross-cultural equivalence of the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS). Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-05-2016-0022 

Van Dyne, L., Ang, S., & Koh, C. (2015). Development and validation of the CQS: The cultural intelligence scale. In Handbook of cultural intelligence (pp. 34-56). Routledge. https://culturalq.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Van-Dyne_Ang_Koh-Handbook-Ch-2-CQS-Scale-1.pdf