Investigating Factors Hindering Intercultural Communication: Study of Ethnocentrism Level of Lithuanian and International Students

Abstract

Ethnocentrism refers to the degree to which one sees his or her culture as superior and the standard by which other cultures should be judged (Neuliep, Hintz, XXABSTRACT McCroskey, 2005). Ethnocentrism negatively influences intercultural communication, especially one’s motivation to interact with persons from dif-ferent cultures (Goncz, 2018; Nameni, 2020; Pla, 2021). As ethnocentrism increases, cultural compe-tence decreases. This study seeks to investigate the levels of students’ ethnocentrism. The additional questions there are about differences between Lithuanian and international students’ levels of ethno-centrism in the study. Students completed the Generalized Ethnocentrism (GENE) Scale (Neuliep and McCroskey). The scale, designed to assess people’s ethnocentrism irrespective of cultural background, consists of 22 items assessed via a 5-point Likert-type scale, 15 of which assess ethnocentrism and 7 of which serve as distracters. Assessing ethnocentrism is important for training and development purpos-es. By comparing the levels of ethnocentrism, it can be better assessed whether an educational objec-tive such as “Learning to live together” consisting of developing an understanding of other people and an appreciation of interdependence is being met. This information may be of use in the design of pro-grams to improve the cultural competence of students.