| As globalization continues an inexorable reach across the world, intercultural competency and tolerance has become ever more important for all aspects of modern day life. Some societies and individuals react in defense, while others embrace a cosmopolitan outlook. Governments, corporations, education systems, and individuals have sought ways to understand the impact of different intercultural interactions and activities as well as the possibility for a cosmopolitan outlook to predict communication behavior. While the development of global orientations has been a point of interest for quite some time, there still remains no comprehensive concept or measurement instrument to examine it. This research study focuses on understanding what the cosmopolitan outlook is, how to measure it effectively, what impact it has on communication behavior, and how it can be reinforced or developed via intercultural experiences. First, the concept and theoretical relationships of cosmopolitanism are defined and scale development for measuring the cosmopolitan outlook is proposed and examined. Second, intercultural interactions via interpersonal and media experiences are tested to predict impact on the cosmopolitan outlook. This research indicates that the proposed reconceptualization and model show important promise in explaining communication behavior as well as filling in gaps from previous research. In a world fraught with intercultural tensions demanding more nuanced and tolerant interactions, this paper provides a road map in how to examine and develop these competencies. |
