I really enjoyed this chapter. Chapter 3 had a lot of really interesting points in terms of cultural intelligence. The text defines cultural intelligence as the ability "to adapt to one's environment" (pg 72) but I feel it is so much more than that. Later on, in the chapter it touched on the topic of Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, this sparked my interest. We as people all have our own "intelligences" and whether or not it translates over to how we process culture and cultural unfamiliarity is really up to the person. In the text it stated that people who possess emotional intelligence have a higher chance of being culturally intelligence, but I don't necessarily believe that to be true. Personally, I believe myself to be emotionally intelligent, but I don't consider myself to be a cultural navigator. I work with a lot of Japanese men, Ive learned their individual personalities and some things that must be cultural. I would consider myself slightly educated in several cultures mostly because I am curious by nature, I love to understand why things are the way they are. Previously I was a psych major and have done a lot of research in regards to Gardner's Intelligence theory, I think having different intelligences, whether it be cultural intelligence, special, emotional, interpersonal, analytical or whatever it be, some people just literally are not wired to be "culturally intelligent". (78)
This chapter also broke down the framework behind "cultural intelligence". It explained that there are 3 main areas of intelligence, metacognition, motivation and behavior. (72) Metacognition was explained to be your "ability to think, learn, and strategize", I think this is key to analyzing why we think a certain way, being able to connect thought processes to an action or cultural norm can be really beneficial to understanding yourself and your own worldview. I believe you have to understand yourself before you can understand others. Motivation is described as one's "self-efficacy and confidence" and their "ability to be persistent and aligned to personal values". Some people's cultural backgrounds inspire and motivate them to be the best they can be. Personally, I come from a background where school wasn't that important, my dad dropped out in 7th grade and my aunt didn't even graduate high school, that has motivated me to become the first in my family to get a college education. It may take me a while but I am determined to get it. Lastly, behavior in cultural intelligence is "about your ability to have a repertoire of skills and an ability to adapt your behavior". As mentioned before, I work with a lot of Japanese men and when we are in company meetings I know what is appropriate to say and to not speak really loud or too animated since many get taken aback by how energetic and animated I am in a business setting.