Bennett scale

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The Bennett scale, also called the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), was developed by Milton Bennett. [1] The framework describes the different ways in which people can react to cultural differences. [1] Bennett's initial idea was for trainers to utilize the model to evaluate trainees' intercultural awareness and help them improve intercultural sensitivity, also sometimes referred to as cultural sensitivity, which is the ability of accepting and adapting to a brand new and different culture. [2]

Contents

Organized into six stages of increasing sensitivity to difference, the DMIS identifies the underlying cognitive orientations individuals use to understand cultural difference. Each position along the continuum represents increasingly complex perceptual organizations of cultural difference, which in turn allow increasingly sophisticated experiences of other cultures. By identifying the underlying experience of cultural difference, predictions about behavior and attitudes can be made and education can be tailored to facilitate development along the continuum. The first three stages are ethnocentric as one sees his own culture as central to reality. Climbing the scale, one develops a more and more ethnorelative point of view, meaning that one experiences one's own culture as in the context of other cultures. By the fourth stage, ethnocentric views are replaced by ethnorelative views. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Developmental model of intercultural sensitivity (Six stages of Bennett scale)

1-3 stages reflect ethnocentrism in cross-cultural communication. During these three phases, a person sees their original culture as the most superior one and takes it as the criteria to judge other cultures. [2]

  1. Denial of difference
    • 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. [3] People at this position are generally uninterested in cultural difference, but when confronted with difference their seemingly benign acceptance may change to aggressive attempts to avoid or eliminate it. [3] 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. [3] Members of dominant culture are more likely to have a denial orientation towards cultural diversity. [4]
  2. Defense of difference
    • Differences are acknowledged, but they are denigrated rather than embraced. [2] Rather, one' s own culture is experienced as the most "evolved" or best way to live. [3] This position is characterized by dualistic us/them thinking and frequently accompanied by overt negative stereotyping. [4] They will openly belittle the differences among their culture and another, denigrating race, gender or any other indicator of difference. People at this position are more openly threatened by cultural difference and more likely to be acting aggressively against it. [3]
  3. Minimization of difference
    • People recognize superficial cultural differences in food, customs, etc. and have somewhat positive view about cultural differences. [2] But they still emphasize human similarity in physical structure, psychological needs, and/or assumed adherence to universal values. [2] [3] 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. [3] They usually assumes that our own set of fundamental behavioral categories are absolute and universal. [1]
  4. Acceptance of difference
    • One's own culture is experienced as one of a number of equally complex worldviews. [3] 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. [2] [3] They can identify how culture affects a wide range of human experience and they have a framework for organizing observations of cultural difference. [3] We recognize people from this stage through their desire to be informed or proactively learn about alien cultures, and not to confirm prejudices. [2]
  5. Adaptation to difference
    • Individuals are able to expand their own worldviews to accurately understand other cultures and behave in a variety of culturally appropriate ways. [3] 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. [3] [2] At this stage, one is able to act properly outside of one's own culture. [3]
  6. Integration of difference
    • One's experience of self is expanded to include the movement in and out of different cultural worldviews. [3] 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. [3] At this point, a will to comprehend and adopt various beliefs and norms begins to emerge, demonstrating a high level of intercultural sensitivity. [2]

4-6 stages reflect ethnorelativism in cross-cultural communication. During these three phases, a person gradually treats all culture as reasonable and try to understand every behavior from the aspect of cultures behind. [2]

Evolutionary strategies

In his theory, Bennett describes what changes occur when evolving through each step of the scale. Summarized, they are the following: [3]

  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.

Application of Bennett scale for the study of various topics

Diversity in education

Schools play an important role in shaping the multicultural perspective of students. [5] A study published in 2011 by Frank Hernandez and Brad W. Kose found that the Bennett Scale provides a robust measure of principals' cultural competence in terms of how they understand differences. [6] Principals' DMIS orientation how they could influence their understanding of social justice and further make them implement different leadership practices for diverse schools. [6] Specifically, the researchers provided various explanations of the pervasive performance gap that sees white children outperforming their black or Latino classmates on standardised tests, academics, and school completion based on the Bennett Scale as a theoretical framework. [6] Education professionals may rationalize school policies and activities for cultural diversity and help achieve cultural equality in the educational environment by determining which of the six phases of intercultural sensitivity the particular principal is in. For instance, a principal in minimization phase may organize international cuisine festivals in the school, or use cultural and heritage festivals as opportunities for intercultural education. [7] But since it overlooks cultural distinctions, the school might not consider to launch a multicultural program or make curriculum changes that respect students' cultural nuances. [6]

Another study applied Bennett Scale to the curriculum of university general education courses. [8] In the current context of globalization and growing diversity in schools, experiencing and learning about cultural differences in the school environment is an important instructional method. [9] This study used Bennett Scale as an analytical model, coded and quantitatively analyzed data of cross-cultural sensitivity among 48 students from multicultural backgrounds receiving university general education. [8] According to the findings, a diversity curriculum that motivates students to share and practice their viewpoints on social issues is more likely to foster empathy and raise levels of cross-cultural sensitivity than one that only emphasizes information comprehension with assignments including material reading and essay writing. [8]

Intercultural communication

Bennett Scale has mostly been applied to analysis on people's cross-cultural sensitivity, but some scholars have expanded its application to organizational communications. Informed by Bennett Scale and Botan's Five steps in Issue Management model, Radu Dumitrascu developed a new corporate adaption model and follow-up intercultural communication approaches for international business. [10] According to how they handle cultural diversity and cultural affiliations and localize themselves through communication, structural adjustments, strategies, and tactics, five types of organizations are defined: denying/intransigent, minimizing/resistant, minimizing/cooperative, adaptive/cooperative, integrative. [10]

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.[ citation needed ] Primary critiques include: [11]

Besides, several researchers report a struggle to determine participants' orientation within the six stages of Bennett Scale due to the lack of transitional middle ground between stages. [12] [13] The model is also critiqued for working well in nations where multiculturalism is easily embraced, like the United States, but its practical applicability in isolated or undeveloped nations where people have little exposure to other cultures is still questioned.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Cross-cultural communication is a field of study investigating how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and how they endeavor to communicate across cultures. Intercultural communication is a related field of study.

Acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts, acquires and adjusts to a new cultural environment as a result of being placed into a new culture, or when another culture is brought to someone. Individuals of a differing culture try to incorporate themselves into the new more prevalent culture by participating in aspects of the more prevalent culture, such as their traditions, but still hold onto their original cultural values and traditions. The effects of acculturation can be seen at multiple levels in both the devotee of the prevailing culture and those who are assimilating into the culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intercultural relations</span>

Intercultural relations, sometimes called intercultural studies, is a relatively new formal field of social science studies. It is a practical, multi-field discipline designed to train its students to understand, communicate, and accomplish specific goals outside their own cultures. Intercultural relations involves, at a fundamental level, learning how to see oneself and the world through the eyes of another. It seeks to prepare students for interaction with cultures both similar to their own or very different from their own. Some aspects of intercultural relations also include, their power and cultural identity with how the relationship should be upheld with other foreign countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture shock</span> Experience one may have when moving to a cultural environment which is different from ones own

Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply transition to another type of life. One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign environment. Culture shock can be described as consisting of at least one of four distinct phases: honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, and adaptation.

Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication. It describes the wide range of communication processes and problems that naturally appear within an organization or social context made up of individuals from different religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. In this sense, it seeks to understand how people from different countries and cultures act, communicate, and perceive the world around them. Intercultural communication focuses on the recognition and respect of those with cultural differences. The goal is mutual adaptation between two or more distinct cultures which leads to biculturalism/multiculturalism rather than complete assimilation. It promotes the development of cultural sensitivity and allows for empathic understanding across different cultures.

Cross-cultural may refer to

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intercultural learning</span>

Intercultural learning is an area of research, study and application of knowledge about different cultures, their differences and similarities. On the one hand, it includes a theoretical and academic approach. On the other hand, it comprises practical applications such as learning to negotiate with people from different cultures, living with people from different cultures, living in a different culture and the prospect of peace between different cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-context and low-context cultures</span> Anthropological notion

In anthropology, high-context culture and low-context culture are ends of a continuum of how explicit the messages exchanged in a culture are and how important the context is in communication. The continuum pictures how people communicate with others through their range of communication abilities: utilizing gestures, relations, body language, verbal messages, or non-verbal messages. "High-" and "low-" context cultures typically refer to language groups, nationalities, or regional communities. However, the concept may also apply to corporations, professions, and other cultural groups, as well as to settings such as online and offline communication. High-context cultures often exhibit less-direct verbal and nonverbal communication, utilizing small communication gestures and reading more meaning into these less-direct messages. Low-context cultures do the opposite; direct verbal communication is needed to properly understand a message being communicated and relies heavily on explicit verbal skills. The model of high-context and low-context cultures offers a popular framework in intercultural-communication studies but has been criticized as lacking empirical validation.

Cultural competence, also known as intercultural competence, is a range of cognitive, affective, behavioural, and linguistic skills that lead to effective and appropriate communication with people of other cultures. Intercultural or cross-cultural education are terms used for the training to achieve cultural competence.

Cultural competency training is an instruction to achieve cultural competence and the ability to appreciate and interpret accurately other cultures. In an increasingly globalised world, training in cultural sensitivity to others' cultural identities and how to achieve cultural competence is being practised in the workplace, particularly in healthcare, schools and in other settings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural sensitivity</span> Knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures

Cultural sensitivity, also referred to as cross-cultural sensitivity or cultural awareness, is the knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures and others' cultural identities. It is related to cultural competence, and is sometimes regarded as the precursor to the achievement of cultural competence, but is a more commonly used term. On the individual level, cultural sensitivity is a state of mind regarding interactions with those different from oneself. Cultural sensitivity enables travelers, workers, and others to successfully navigate interactions with a culture other than their own.

Third culture kids (TCK) or third culture individuals (TCI) are people who were raised in a culture other than their parents' or the culture of their country of nationality, and also live in a different environment during a significant part of their child development years. They typically are exposed to a greater volume and variety of cultural influences than those who grow up in one particular cultural setting. The term applies to both adults and children, as the term kid refers to the individual's formative or developmental years. However, for clarification, sometimes the term adult third culture kid (ATCK) is used.

Co-cultural communication theory was built upon the frameworks of muted group theory and standpoint theory. The cornerstone of co-cultural communication theory is muted group theory as proposed in the mid 1970s by Shirley and Edwin Ardener. The Ardeners were cultural anthropologists who made the observation that most other cultural anthropologists practicing ethnography in the field were talking only to the leaders of the cultures, who were by and large adult males. The researchers would then use this data to represent the culture as a whole, leaving out the perspectives of women, children and other groups made voiceless by the cultural hierarchy. The Ardeners maintained that groups which function at the top of the society hierarchy determine to a great extent the dominant communication system of the entire society. Ardener's 1975 muted group theory also posited that dominant group members formulate a "communication system that support their perception of the world and conceptualized it as the appropriate language for the rest of society".

Cultural contracts refer to the degree that cultural values are exchanged between groups. They are the agreements made between two groups of people regarding how they will modify their identities in unison. Cultural contract theory investigates how identities shift and are negotiated through cross-cultural interaction. It extends identity negotiation theory and uncertainty reduction theory by focusing defining the negotiation experience from the perspective of minority groups when dealing with cultural norms set by the majority groups. Relationally coordinating with others is the main objective of a cultural contract. The three fundamental premises of the cultural contracts theory are that identities are contractual, continually transferred, and requirement for validation.

Cross-cultural psychology attempts to understand how individuals of different cultures interact with each other. Along these lines, cross-cultural leadership has developed as a way to understand leaders who work in the newly globalized market. Today's international organizations require leaders who can adjust to different environments quickly and work with partners and employees of other cultures. It cannot be assumed that a manager who is successful in one country will be successful in another.

Ethnocultural empathy refers to the understanding of feelings of individuals that are ethnically and/or culturally different from oneself. This concept casts doubts on global empathy, which assumes that empathy is "feeling in oneself the feelings of others" regardless of the other's characteristics or context. Ethnocultural empathy, on the other hand, assumes that empathy toward others probably increases if the other is similar to oneself in terms of ethnicity, gender, age, or cultural background.

Asiacentrism is an ethnocentric and economic perspective that regards Asia to be either superior, central, or unique relative to other regions. This ideological stance may take the form of ascribing to Asia significance or supremacy at the cost of the rest of the world. The concept arose in the context of a projected Asian Century, the expected economic and cultural dominance of Asia in the 21st century, in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BaFa' BaFa'</span> Game simulating contact between cultures

BaFá BaFá is a face-to-face learning simulation (game), invented by Dr. R. Garry Shirts in 1974, who also invented StarPower, and is published by Simulation Training Systems, Inc. The simulation is intended to improve participants' cross-cultural competence by helping them understand the impact of culture on the behavior of people and organizations. Participants experience "culture shock" by traveling to and trying to interact with a culture in which the people have different values, different ways of behaving and different ways of solving problems.

Intercultural intelligence, or ICI, is a term that is used for the capability to function effectively in culturally diverse settings and consists of different dimensions which are correlated to effectiveness in global environment. Intercultural intelligence differs from cultural intelligence in that it is based from the belief in interculturalism while CQ is based from the belief in multiculturalism. The term was first used in 2006 in response to the qualities observed in international executives that enabled them to succeed globally.

Milton James Bennett, often cited as Milton J. Bennett, is an American sociologist. He is credited as the creator of Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bennett, Milton J. (1986-01-01). "A developmental approach to training for intercultural sensitivity". International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Special Issue: Theories and Methods in Cross-Cultural Orientation. 10 (2): 179–196. doi:10.1016/0147-1767(86)90005-2. ISSN   0147-1767.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Littlejohn, Stephen W. (2021). Theories of human communication. Karen A. Foss, John G. Oetzel (Twelfth ed.). Long Grove, Illinois. ISBN   978-1-4786-4667-9. OCLC   1259328675.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Bennett, Milton J. (2017-06-27). "Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity". The International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication: 1–10. doi:10.1002/9781118783665.ieicc0182. ISBN   9781118783948. S2CID   151315097.
  4. 1 2 3 Hammer, Mitchell R.; Bennett, Milton J.; Wiseman, Richard (July 2003). "Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory". International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 27 (4): 421–443. doi:10.1016/s0147-1767(03)00032-4. ISSN   0147-1767.
  5. ↑ Best practices, best thinking, and emerging issues in school leadership. William A. Owings, Leslie S. Kaplan. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press. 2003. ISBN   0-7619-7862-3. OCLC   50803476.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 Hernandez, Frank; Kose, Brad W. (July 2012). "The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity: A Tool for Understanding Principals' Cultural Competence". Education and Urban Society. 44 (4): 512–530. doi:10.1177/0013124510393336. ISSN   0013-1245. S2CID   144580919.
  7. ↑ Beyond heroes and holidays : a practical guide to K-12 anti-racist, multicultural education and staff development. Enid Lee, Deborah Menkart, Margo Okazawa-Rey, Teaching for Change (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Teaching for Change. 2002. ISBN   1-878554-17-4. OCLC   51074343.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. 1 2 3 Mahoney, Sandra L.; Schamber, Jon F. (2004). "Exploring the Application of a Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity to a General Education Curriculum on Diversity". The Journal of General Education. 53 (3): 311–334. doi:10.1353/jge.2005.0007. ISSN   1527-2060. S2CID   144856538.
  9. ↑ Educating citizens : preparing America's undergraduates for lives of moral and civic responsibility. Anne Colby (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 2003. ISBN   978-0-7879-6515-0. OCLC   50858910.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. 1 2 Dumitrascu, Radu (2008-07-09). Corporate-Adaptation in International Public Relations (Thesis thesis).
  11. ↑ Liddicoat, Anthony J; Papademetre, Leo; Scarino, Angela; Kohler, Michelle (2003). Report on intercultural language learning. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training.
  12. ↑ Kashima, T. (2006). Phenomenological research on the intercultural sensitivity of returned Peace Corps volunteers in the Athens community (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University).
  13. ↑ Turner, D. A. (1991). Assessing the intercultural sensitivity of American expatriates in Kuwait.
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