The Relationship of Intercultural Experience, Acculturation Expectations and Creativity among Russian Students

Intercultural contacts can be both destructive and beneficial to creativity, depending on the characteristics of acculturation. The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between intercultural experiences, acculturation expectations and creativity of Russian students in the context of internationalizing educational environment. Using quantitative methods on a sample of 272 Russian students (average age 21 years, 61% women) we tested hypotheses that the intercultural experiences are directly related to creativity, while acculturation expectations can both mediate this relationship and be an independent predictor of creativity. Our questionnaire included “Many instances” game from the RCAB of M. Runko, acculturation expectations scale (MIRIPS by J.W. Berry), intensity of friendly intercultural contacts scale (MIRIPS by J.W. Berry) and questions about length of staying abroad. The results showed that (1) the duration of stay abroad is positively related to creativity of Russian students; (2) positive relationship between the intensity of intercultural friendly interactions at the university and creativity is partly mediated by acculturation expectation of integration; and (3) expectations of integration and segregation are positively related to creativity, while the expectations of assimilation and exclusion are negatively related.

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