Nationalism, personality, and decision-making: Evidence from an SJT for military multi-national teaming scenarios

The global reach of the US military requires commanders to manage multinational teams effectively but cultural factors make effective decision-making challenging. This article reports a series of three studies with a total sample of 696 participants. They examined how sociocultural factors, personality traits, and decision-making competencies correlated with performance on a Situation Judgment Test (SJT) for military multinational decision-making. Predictors of SJT performance included general decision-making competencies, low nationalism, and Big Five and Dark Triad personality traits. Higher cultural intelligence (CQ) did not predict the SJT. Nationalism was associated with poorer decision-making in general, as well as traits associated with social agency. Regression analyses suggested that multiple dimensions predicted performance independently. Several factors linked to poor performance were associated with high confidence. Lack of cognitive flexibility may also contribute to impairments. Multivariate assessments of commanders may be utilized to guide training towards the individual's specific vulnerabilities.