Cultural competence/Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory

Bhawuk and Brislin (1992)

The items were published in Appendix A: (Bahwuk & Brisling, 1992: 434-436)

Individualism And Collectivism Items

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For items 1-16, imagine living and working in the United States. Go over the items again (calling them 17-32) while imagining that you are living and working in Japan.

1 When I disagree with a group, I would allow a conflict in the group to remain, rather than change my own stance on important issues. (I)
2. I would offer my seat in a bus to my supervisor. (C)
3. I prefer to be direct and forthright when dealing with people. (I)
4. I enjoy developing long-term relationships among the people with whom I work. (C).
5. I am very modest when talking about my own accomplishments. (C)
6. When I give gifts to people whose cooperation I need in my work, I feel I am indulging in questionable behavior. (I)
7. If I want my subordinate to perform a task, I tell the person that my superiors want me to get that task done. (C)
8. I prefer to give opinions that will help people save face rather than give a statement of the truth. (C)
9. I say “No” directly when I have to. (I)
IO. I define the other person’s status by paying attention to name, gender, age, and other demographic attributes. (C)
11. To increase sales, I would announce that the individual salesperson with the highest saies would be given the “Distinguished Salesperson” award. (I)
12. I enjoy being emotionally close to the people with whom I work. (C)
13. It is important to develop a network of people in my community who can help me out when I have tasks to accomplish. (I)
14. I enjoy feeling that I am looked upon as equal in worth to my superiors. (I)
15. I have respect for the authority figures with whom I interact. (C)
16. If I want a person to perform a certain task I try to show how the task will benefit others in the person’s group. (C)

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Items 17-32 are the same as 1-16, but answered with a collectivist culture in mind.

Scoring: “I vs C refers to the culture where this behavior is more appropriate. The scoring is based on the assumption that the same person will answer I items with agreement and C items with more disagreement when working in an individualist society; and will answer C items with more agreement and I items with more disagreement when working in a collectivist society.” ( 435)

Flexibility and open-mindedness items

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33. When I am living abroad, I assess situations as quickly as I do when I am living in my own country. {D)
34. I get upset if I do not get a letter or call from my close friend(s) for more than a month, when I am living abroad. (D)*hildren ate local food at school, when I am living in another country. (A)
35. Given acceptable hygienic conditions, I would not mind if my children ate local food at school, when I am living in another country. (A)
36. I do not like to receive unannounced visitors at home. (D)
37. I do not like customs officers meddling with my baggage at the airport. (D)
38. We all have a right to hold different beliefs about God and religion. (A)
39. I do not like to meet foreigners. (D)
40. It is unusual for people to eat dogs. (D)
41. I decorate my home or office with artifacts from other countries. (A)
42. Culturally mixed marriages are wrong. (D)
43. A woman’s place, truly, is at home. (D)
44. I would not allow my subordinate to promote his nephew if there is someone marginally better than him. The person who is better must be promoted at all costs. (D)
45. Soviet influence is threatening the national identity of many Asian countries. (D)**
46. While living abroad, I spend most of my personal time with people from my own country. (D)

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Scoring: ““A” is agree and “D” is disagree. People receive a positive score if they agree with “A” items and disagree with “D” item” (p. 436).