Syarifah Muthia Nurjihan Student Date Approved by: Sharon Schumacher M.A

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TO INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE

By

Syarifah Muthia Nurjihan 11410003

BACHELOR’S DEGREE in

COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATION

SWISS GERMAN UNIVERSITY The Prominence Tower

Jalan Jalur Sutera Barat No. 15, Alam Sutera Tangerang, Banten 15143 - Indonesia

Revision after Thesis Defense on 17 July 2018

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Syarifah Muthia Nurjihan STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at any educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis.

Syarifah Muthia Nurjihan

_____________________________________________

Student Date

Approved by:

Sharon Schumacher M.A.

_____________________________________________

Thesis Advisor Date

Dr. Nila K. Hidayat. SE., MM.

_____________________________________________

Dean Date

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Syarifah Muthia Nurjihan COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDONESIAN THIRD CULTURE

INDIVIDUALS AND NON-THIRD CULTURE INDIVIDUALS IN RELATION TO INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE

By

Syarifah Muthia Nurjihan Sharon Schumacher, M.A, Advisor

SWISS GERMAN UNIVERSITY

Third Culture Individuals (TCIs) are individuals who spent a significant part of their developmental years outside of their passport country. TCIs can be described as global citizens and often associated with having intercultural communication competence (ICC). ICC can be defined as the ability to effectively and appropriately execute communication behavior to achieve a desired response in a specific environment. The purpose of this study is to compare the level of ICC of Indonesian TCIs and non-TCIs through a quantitative research using the Cultural Intelligence scale measuring four dimensions; metacognitive, cognitive, motivational and behavioral. Data in this research were gathered from an online survey platform through Google Forms, from 140 TCI and non-TCI respondents currently living in Indonesia. Results in this study showed that TCIs does indeed possess overall a higher level of ICC than non-TCIs, with motivational CQ being the highest for both TCIs and non-TCIs.

Keywords: intercultural communication competence, third culture individuals, cultural intelligence

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Syarifah Muthia Nurjihan DEDICATION

I dedicate this work for fellow third culture kids

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Syarifah Muthia Nurjihan ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’d like to thank my Thesis Team Schumacher teammates for being very supportive and cooperative since the very beginning.

To my supervisor; Sharon Schumacher M,A, for your guidance, comments and endless support throughout the countless difficult times faced. I was able to successfully finish my thesis.

To my best friend; Indaya, for encouraging me to push through and motivating me when I feel down and lazy.

Last but not least, to my fellow PR 14 classmates. Who, despite being stressed out together still managed to entertain each other.

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Syarifah Muthia Nurjihan TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR ... 2

ABSTRACT ... 3

DEDICATION ... 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... 6

LIST OF FIGURES ... 10

LIST OF TABLES ... 11

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ... 13

1.1 Background ... 13

1.1.1 Indonesia Diaspora in the US... 14

1.1.2 Defining Third Culture Kids ... 15

1.1.3 Intercultural Communication Competence ... 16

1.2 Research Problems ... 16

1.3 Research Objectives ... 17

1.4 Research Questions ... 17

1.5 Hypothesis ... 17

1.6 Significance of Study ... 18

1.7 Scope and Limitation ... 18

CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW ... 20

2.1 Understanding Third Culture Individuals ... 20

2.1.1 Defining Third Culture Individuals ... 20

2.1.1.1 Expected Repatriation ... 21

2.1.1.2 Distinct Differences ... 22

2.1.1.3 Privileged Lifestyle ... 22

2.1.1.4 System Identity ... 22

2.1.2 TCI Characteristics (dimensions) ... 23

2.1.2.1 Mobility ... 23

2.1.2.2 Educational Background ... 23

2.1.2.3 Developmental Years Spent in Host & Passport Country ... 24

2.1.2.4 Language ... 24

2.1.2.5 Relationship With Respective Country ... 24

2.1.3 TCIs and Identity ... 26

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2.2.1 Different Perspectives of ICC ... 27

2.2.2 Dimensions of ICC ... 28

2.2.3 ICC and Diaspora ... 30

2.3 ICC and Globalization ... 32

2.4 Development of ICC Instrument ... 32

2.4.1 ICCQ ... 33

2.4.2 Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQ) ... 33

2.4.2.1 Dimensions of CQ ... 34

2.4.3 Comparative Analysis of ICC and CQ ... 36

2.5 Theoretical Framework ... 38

CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHODS ... 40

3.1 Type of Study ... 40

3.2 Population & Sample ... 40

3.2.1 Sampling Method ... 40

3.2.1.1 Convenience Sampling... 41

3.2.1.2 Snowball Sampling ... 41

3.2.2 Sample Size ... 42

3.3 Data Collection ... 42

3.3.1 Questionnaire Design ... 42

3.3.2 Preliminary Research ... 43

3.3.2.1 ICC instrument ... 43

3.3.2.2 CQ Scale... 44

3.3.2.3 Summary ... 44

3.4 Data Analysis Technique ... 45

3.4.1 Variables Operationalization ... 45

3.4.1.1 Independent Variable ... 45

3.4.1.2 Dependent Variable ... 47

CHAPTER 4 – RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ... 49

4.1 Respondent Demographics ... 49

4.2 Comparing TCI Characteristics ... 50

4.2.1 TCIs and Abroad Experiences ... 50

4.2.2 Number of Countries Travelled ... 51

4.2.3 Language Proficiency ... 51

4.3 Post Reliability & Validity Tests ... 52

4.3.1 Cronbach’s Alpha ... 52

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4.4.1 Hypothesis 1 (Independent sample t-test) ... 53

4.4.1.1 Hypothesis 1 Discussion ... 55

4.4.4 Hypothesis 4 (descriptive statistics) ... 59

4.5 Other Findings ... 62

4.5.1 ICC Mean Comparison ... 62

4.5.2 Level of ICC & Number of Languages Spoken ... 63

4.5.3 Level of ICC & Number of Countries Travelled ... 64

4.6 Discussion ... 65

CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSIONS AND RECCOMENDATIONS ... 66

5.1 Conclusions ... 66

5.1.1 Summary ... 67

5.2 Recommendations ... 67

REFERENCES ... 69

APPENDICES ... 72

APPENDIX 1 ... 73

APPENDIX 2 ... 74

APPENDIX 3 ... 75

CURRICULUM VITAE ... 80