A Model of Intercultural

Communication Competence
week 8
 01 Ethnocentrism vs Ethnorelativism

Lecture
outline 02 Developmental Model of Intercultural
Sensitivity
Dr. Milton Bennett
American sociologist

In 2004, Bennett explained his rationale for developing the model:

“After years of observing all kinds of people dealing (or not)

with cross-cultural situations, I decided to try to make sense of
what was happening to them. I wanted to explain why some
people seemed to get a lot better at communicating across
cultural boundaries while other people didn’t improve at all,
and I thought that if I were able to explain why this happened,
trainers and educators could do a better job of preparing
people for cross-cultural encounters.”
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)
Ethnocentrism

•I used the term ‘ethnocentrism’ to refer to the experience of one’s own

culture as ‘central to reality.’ By this I mean that the beliefs and behaviors
that people receive in their primary socialization are unquestioned; they are
experienced as ‘just the way things are.’ (Bennet, 2004)
Ethnocentrism is a term applied to the cultural or ethnic bias—
whether conscious or unconscious—in which an individual views
the world from the perspective of his or her own group,
establishing the in-group as archetypal and rating all other groups
with reference to this ideal
Ethnorelativism

•The experience of one’s own beliefs and behaviors as just one

organization of reality among many viable possibilities (Bennet, 2004)
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)
 1.Denial
In the first stage, Denial, an individual denies that
cultural differences exist. This belief may reflect either
physical or social isolation from people of different
cultural backgrounds.

Individuals experience their own culture as the only "real" one,

while other cultures are either not noticed at all or are
understood in an undifferentiated, simplistic manner.
 At This Stage, Learners Say:

• “Live and let live, that’s what I say.”

• “All big cities are the same—lots of buildings, too many cars, McDonalds.”
• “As long as we all speak the same language, there’s no problem.”
• “The main concerns I have involve knowing how to get around and ordering in
restaurants.”
• “With my experience, I can be successful in any culture without any special
effort – I never experience culture shock.”
• “All I need to know about is politics and history—I can figure out the rest of it
as I go along.”
“Do they have toilets in Africa?”
1. Isolation: I live isolated in my homogeneous group,
and I am uninterested in experiencing difference.
2. Separation: I intentionally separate myself from
cultural difference to protect my own worldview.
 Most of the time, this is a result of physical or social
isolation, where the person's views are never
challenged and are at the center of their reality.
Members of dominant culture are more likely to have a
denial orientation towards cultural diversity.
Vague homogenized categories, such as “foreigner,” “immigrant,” or
“Asian,” or they will stereotype, demean, or dehumanize others by
assuming that different cultural dispositions must be the result of
deficiencies in character, intelligence, physical ability, work ethic, or
other innate traits.
 2.Defense
In the second stage, Defense, an individual
acknowledges the existence of certain cultural
differences, but because those differences are
threatening to his or her own reality and sense of self,
the individual constructs agressive defenses against
those differences.

This position is characterized by dualistic us/them thinking and

frequently accompanied by overt negative stereotyping.
• they feel victimized or attacked in discussions about bias, racism, etc.
Bennett 01
denigration, or negative

offers three stereotyping, of another group

commonly 02
superiority, is where an individual
places his or her group above
used defense another.

mechanisms: 03 reversal, is less common. It involves

the denigration of one’s own culture
and the idealizing of another
• “Why don’t these people speak my language?”
• “When I go to other cultures, I realize how much better my own culture
is.”
• “My culture should be a model for the rest of the world.”
• “These people don’t value life the way we do.”
• “Boy, could we teach these people a lot of stuff.”
• “What a sexist society!”
• “These people are so urbane and sophisticated, not like the superficial
people back home.”
• “I am embarrassed by my compatriots, so I spend all my time with the
host country nationals.”
• “I wish I could give up my own cultural background and really be one of
these people.
 3.Minimization
human similarities are more important than cultural
differences (implying that cultural differences are
unimportant or that they can be ignored), or in claims
that “deep down humans are all alike.”

•People at this position are likely to assume that they are no longer
ethnocentric, and they tend to overestimate their tolerance while
underestimating the effect (e.g. “privilege”) of their own culture
• “The key to getting along in any culture is to just be yourself—authentic and
honest!”
• “Customs differ, of course, but when you really get to know them they’re pretty
much like us.”
• “I have this intuitive sense of other people, no matter what their culture.”
• “Technology is bringing cultural uniformity to the developed world”
• “While the context may be different, the basic need to communicate remains the
same around the world.”
• “No matter what their culture, people are pretty much motivated by the same
things.”
• “If people are really honest, they’ll recognize that some values are universal.”
• “It’s a small world, after all!”
 “By saying Black Lives Matter, you are not saying that
other lives don’t matter. However, you are bringing
attention to the way that Black people across the world
are denied certain human rights by virtue of being
Black.”
If one house on your street was on fire, would you expect the fire
service to hose all the houses, or just the burning one?

Saying BLM doesn’t discount the importance of other lives but sends
an important message about the racism needlessly jeopardizing the
lives of black people globally.

This is discrimination that white people simply do not experience.

Therefore to say 'All Lives Matter' erases the experience of black
people - which 'Black Lives Matter' highlights. Black people are
treated as though their lives don't matter, white people less so.
 4. Acceptance
One's own culture is experienced as one of a number of
equally complex worldviews. People at this position
appreciate and accept the existence of culturally
different ways of organizing human existence, although
they do not necessarily like or agree with every way.

They can identify how culture affects a wide range of

human experience and they have a framework for
organizing observations of cultural difference. We
recognize people from this stage through their desire to
be informed or proactively learn about alien cultures,
and not to confirm prejudices.
“The more difference the better – it’s boring if everyone is the same”
• “People in other cultures are different in ways I hadn’t thought of
before”
• “I always try to study about a new culture before I go there.”
• “The more cultures you know about, the better comparisons you
can make.”
• “Sometimes it’s confusing, knowing that values are different in
various cultures and wanting to be respectful, but still wanting to
maintain my own core values.”
• “When studying abroad, every student needs to be aware of
relevant cultural differences.”
• “My homestay family and I have had very different life experiences,
and we’re learning from each other”
• “Where can I learn more about Mexican culture to be effective in
my communication?
1. Respect for Behavioral Difference: all behavior
2. Respect for Value Difference: that all values and beliefs
exist in a cultural context.
 5. Adaptation
Individuals are able to expand their own worldviews to
accurately understand other cultures and behave in a
variety of culturally appropriate ways.

In this stage, multicultural participants start to develop

intercultural communication skills, change their
communication styles, and effectively use empathy or
frame of reference shifting, to understand and be
understood across cultural boundaries.

At this stage, one is able to act properly outside of one's

own culture.
• “To solve this dispute, I’m going to have to change my approach.”
• “I know they’re really trying hard to adapt to my style, so it’s fair that I try to
meet them halfway.”
• “I greet people from my culture and people from the host culture somewhat
differently to account for cultural differences in the way respect is
communicated.”
• “I can maintain my values and also behave in culturally appropriate ways.”
• “In a study abroad program, every student should be able to adapt to at least
some cultural differences.”
• “To solve this dispute, I need to change my behavior to account for the
difference in status between me and my counterpart from the other culture.”
• “I’m beginning to feel like a member of this culture.”
• “The more I understand this culture, the better I get at the language.”
1. Empathy: I have developed enough intercultural
communication skills to be able to adapt to
difference and consciously shift, through empathy,
into another perspective, into another cultural
frame of reference. I can also act in culturally
appropriate ways in the other culture.

2. Pluralism: I understand that difference must

always be understood within the context of the
relevant culture. I have internalized more than one
worldview.
 6. Integration
One’s experience of self is expanded to include the
movement in and out of different cultural worldviews.
People at this position have a definition of self that is
"marginal" (not central) to any particular culture,
allowing this individual to shift rather smoothly from one
cultural worldview to another.

At this point, a will to comprehend and adopt various

beliefs and norms begins to emerge, demonstrating a
high level of intercultural sensitivity.
• “While sometimes I feel marginal in groups, I am able to move in and out of
them with relative ease.”
• “Everywhere is home, if you know enough about how things work there.”
• “I feel most comfortable when I’m bridging differences between the cultures I
know.”
• “Whatever the situation, I can usually look at it from a variety of cultural points
of view.”
• “In an intercultural world, everyone needs to have a intercultural mindset.”
• “I truly enjoy participating fully in both of my cultures.”
• “My decision-making skills are enhanced by having multiple frames of
reference."
The integration stage occurs most commonly among members of non-dominant
groups that are living in dominant-group communities, expatriates who live for
long periods of time in other countries, and so-called “global nomads” who
spend their lives traveling and living in far-flung parts of the world.

In educational settings, integration is most likely to occur in schools that serve

culturally diverse students and families, that are staffed with adults whose
demographics mirror the diversity of the student and family population, and that
teach a multicultural, and possibly even multilingual, curriculum that explicitly
represents and integrates the varied cultural experiences and backgrounds of
the community.
 Evolutionary strategies

1. From denial to defense: the person acquires an awareness of

difference between cultures
2. From defense to minimization: negative judgments are
depolarized, and the person is introduced to similarities
between cultures.
3. From minimization to acceptance: the subject grasps the
importance of intercultural difference.
4. From acceptance to adaptation: exploration and research
into the other culture begins
5. From adaptation to integration: subject develops empathy
towards the other culture.
 Retreat
occurs when people move from a higher ethnocentric stage to an
earlier stage—most commonly from minimization to defense.

“threat response”: when people are confronted with

cultural difference, or when they feel criticized or
judged for their cultural views, a common reaction is to
get defensive
 Critiques of Bennett scale
Bennett Scale is recognized for defining clear ethnocentric and
ethnorelative stages, however, it is also considered by some
scholars to be too idealistic to be practiced in the reality.

Does not apply to short-term cultural adaptation because of its progressive nature
Neglect the relationship between interculturality and language
Assume monocultural origin and no previous contact with other cultures, which
does not take into account people from multicultural backgrounds