Cultural Intelligence

Cultural Intelligence refers to a person’s ability to adapt effectively to new cultural contexts. While existing research on Cultural Intelligence has largely been done by business practitioners within professional settings, we study and apply Cultural Intelligence from within a societal framework that incorporates race-theory and violence prevention. More specifically, we study Motivational Cultural Intelligence as it relates to social environmental factors related to acceptance of cultural differences in youth from ages 14 to 21.

We apply a multidimensional approach to Cultural Intelligence by utilizing sociological methodologies to race-theory as part of analysis on violent extremist propaganda. In doing so, we identify factors that influence the ability to discredit narratives perpetuated by groups encouraging targeted violence and cultivate empathic awareness of systemic realities that impact various ethno-cultural groups.

Our goal is to highlight the importance of a structural approach for Cultural Intelligence studies in order to both inform educational programs and improve the efficacy of initiatives designed to prevent targeted violence.

This work is funded by the United States National Institute of Justice and Department of Homeland Security.