The Relationship Between Intercultural Interactions at University and the Creativity of Russian Students: The Role of Intercultural Competence

Abstract

This research studies the relationship between home country intercultural experience, intercultural competence and creativity among Russian students. We assume that students from culturally heterogeneous groups or/and students having a course dedicated to intercultural issues are more creative, as cultural diversity and cultural learning are associated with a higher level of intercultural competence, and intercultural competence may be positively related to creativity. The sample of the first study included 72 students and the sample of the second study included 272 students of HSE University. Creativity was measured by the indicators of creative thinking (fluency, flexibility, and originality) via "Many instances game" from the creativity test battery of Runco; intercultural competence was measured using "Assessment of intercultural competence" of Fantini & Tirmizi. Home country intercultural experience was operationalized via the presence of students from other countries in the study groups and via the inclusion of a Cross-Cultural Psychology course in the students’ curriculum. The results of the first study show that cultural learning in the home country institution leads to higher levels of creativity, while the cultural heterogeneity of the groups is associated with an increase in creativity only when cultural learning was applied. The results of the second study show such components of intercultural competence as attitudes and the adaptability of behavior play an important role in the creativity of Russian students: attitudes are positively and the adaptability of behavior is negatively related to creativity.

Keywords: creativity, intercultural learning, intercultural contacts, cultural heterogeneity, intercultural competence

JEL Classification: Z