Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, Milton J. Bennett

Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, Milton J. Bennett (1986, 1993, 2004,2013)

Milton Bennett (1986, 1993, 2004, and 2013) developed the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) as a framework for explaining how people experience and engage with cultural difference. The DMIS continuum ranges from ethnocentrism, which is the experience of one's own culture as "central to reality," to ethnorelativism, which is the experience of one's own and other cultures as "relative to context."

Denial is at the heart of an ethnocentric worldview, and it means that cultural difference is not perceived at all by a person. It denies the existence of any difference, that other perspectives on reality exist. Bennett describes defense as a second stage. Cultural difference can be perceived as dangerous because it provides alternatives to one's own sense of reality and thus one's identity. The last stage of ethnocentrism Bennett refers to minimization. Difference is acknowledged; it is no longer fought with superiority but an attempt is made to minimize its significance.

Ethnorelativism begins with acceptance. This indicates an experience in which one’s own culture is experienced as just one of number of equally complex worldviews. It however does not mean agreement. The stage after accepting cultural differences is adaptation. This means generating appropriate alternative behavior in a different cultural context. It involves intercultural empathy. Bennett refers to the final set of stages as integration. Integration necessitates a continuous re-definition of one's own identity in terms of lived experiences.

Bennett implies that intercultural learning is a process marked by continuous progress. Bennett’s model has proven to be a good starting point for the design of trainings. The developmental model clearly indicates the goal of working on intercultural learning: to reach a point where difference is perceived as normal, is integrated into one's identity, and can be referenced to multiple cultural frames of reference.