Crossing Cultural Barriers: The Relationship Between Studying Abroad and the Personalities of College Students

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between personality traits and studying abroad. Previous research suggested that studying abroad changes some of students’ personality traits. Participants consisted of 128 college students who belonged to one of three groups: those who studied abroad, those who are planning to study abroad, and those not planning to study abroad. All participants took a survey rating their personality measures and answering questions about their study abroad experiences or lack thereof. There was a significant difference among the three groups in openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness ratings of how participants perceived they should be affected by studying abroad. Also, students who studied abroad have traveled to significantly more countries than students who have not studied abroad.