Importance Of Intercultural Sensitivity

After reading through the chapter on the DMIS stages (denial, defense, minimization, acceptance, adaptation, and integration), I would say that personally, I fall under the “acceptance” stage. “This stage represents an individual’s ability to recognize and appreciate cultural difference in terms of both people’s values and their behavior” (Cushner, McClelland, Safford, Pg. 152). As it states, the individual experiencing acceptance is “beginning to demonstrate the ability to interpret phenomena within a cultural context”, I believe that this is a fitting sentence for myself. Being that I am from a rural prairie town in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma, and the only people where I lived were other Senecas like my family and friends, I did not experience a cultural shock until I was in the sixth grade and had moved to Florida. In this town in Oklahoma, it was rare to even see someone described as “white”, as racial prejudice is still rampant throughout Oklahoma against Natives and basically, everybody who isn’t. I was taught to be accepting and welcoming throughout my life, and I believe that made the transition into a new cultural system much easier.

Accepting the differences of others by expanding your own level of understanding begins with the awareness that your own culture

My example of cultural sensitivity is the way the church I go to. They try to accept everyone. They try to encourage the atypical non-church type to feel welcome in their church. I go to a “cowboy church” not completely by choice; I married into a family that attends there. At first the things they did at the church irritated me. This may be because of my own cultural sensitivity. I was very sensitive to the things they were not doing. A lot of the typical Christen things that I found to be in most church services were lacking at this cowboy church. After attending several times I started to learn I was in fact experiencing culture shock. In fact the cowboy church really had their own culture. I soon learned that some of the things I found

If we understand the complexities of the cultures around us, we can better relate to the people engaged in the other cultures. It also allows us to better understand why others are acting the way they are. At the hospital I work at, we are taught about how others use the word “yes.” For instance, I might ask if they understand the paperwork they are signing and they will respond with “yes.” However, to them the “yes” might not be an agreement with the understanding the paperwork but they are using “yes” to be respectful. One then must clarify whether they truly understand

The United States is a country that is often referred to as a melting pot because it has a mixture of people of all different ages, religions, and cultures. With such a wide variety of people from different backgrounds, it seems essential that cultural awareness and sensitivity is incorporated

Our day to day lives can typically involve umpteen interactions with individuals from across the life span whose identity comprises multiple layers. Culture can often be a significant element of identity; thus practicing cultural safety, which can be viewed as an environment where individuals’ cultural identities, rights, and experiences are not challenged or denied, rather they are respected and understood (Williams, 1999), within interactions is essential. Cultural awareness, sensitivity, and competence are intertwined in cultural safety, and a principle step in developing and understanding these concepts is examining our own cultural identities and how they shape our worldviews and attitudes. In this paper, I will reflect on my own cultural

Orientation to Knowledge- The terms people use to explain themselves and the world around them

There are several different positive and unique aspects of intercultural relationships. Intercultural relationships allow individuals to understand other people of different cultures, ethnicities, gender and etc. It is interesting understanding other peoples beliefs as well as how they have lived there life’s. A positive aspect of intercultural relationships is the difference between the two people. I think it is interesting learning how other people think and how they were brought up. When you are in an intercultural relationship you get to understand how that person feels about certain situations that they have been through. You get to learn who that person truly is.

For example, the African American and Hispanic cultures that inhabit the United States of America are being accepted for their cultures. Hispanics bring with them their Spanish heritage and African Americans come with their defining traditions as well. Caucasian Americans are appreciating the art and music that these cultures bring to the table that is the United States of America. This “Age of Acceptance” is all about remembering this generation as being appreciative of the many cultures that make up the United States of America. Individuals from all walks of life, whether they be Latin or French make up this generation. These vast and unique cultures are also what help define the United States of America as a very accepting nation. This is way the 21st century can be defined at the “Age of

The intercultural challenges I am currently facing is my CQ knowledge. I am having challenges because I cannot find common ground when working with a variety of cultures. For example, I work as a customer service representative in a call center and I’m around a variety of cultures. I find it very hard to understand everyone’s triggers, their dislikes, and likes, and why they behave or act a certain way with different situations. I try to ask questions to grasp an understanding of their behaviors, and still find it quite challenging to reach common ground. I try to be very open-minded, however, it always causes me to become frustrated.

Realizing we have more in common than not, when I meet new people, I look at them as individuals. I take into consideration the concrete, the behavioral and the symbolic for they all have their place in a person being who they are. Yes, I wish others could see and gain understanding for other cultures through my eyes. For example, “it is possible to acquire a new culture by becoming disabled, moving to a new country or region, or by a change in our economic status. When we think of culture this broadly we realize we all belong to many cultures at once” (Community Tool Box, 2013).

Cultural awareness: having an understanding and appreciation for different cultures as well as your own. Being culturally aware allows you gain more insight and increases your knowledge on the way of life in other countries. You get a different perspective and a better appreciation for other cultures thereby eliminating close-mindedness. (San Diego State University, n.d.)

We live in a rapidly changing world, which is increasingly bringing people of various cultures in closer interaction with each other. This interaction can be positive or negative depending on the level of sensitivity and respect people have for other cultural groups. Negative attitudes towards other cultures and/or ethnic groups arise out of ethnocentrism, while positive attitudes are the result of a culturally relativist approach. If people are going to be successful in today's multicultural, informative society, they will need to develop a culturally sensitive frame of reference and mode of operation.

The developmental model that I will be using is Bennett’s developmental model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS). Bennett’s model “…provides a framework for understanding individual development and awareness along a continuum from high ethnocentric to highly ethnorelative, and this framework can help us better understand some of the dynamics that might occur” (Bennett, 135). According to the model, there are two groups ethnocentric, which has three sub stages, and ethnorelative, which also has three sub stages. In the first category, ethnocentric, the three sub stages are denial, defense and minimization, while, the second category, ethnorelative, the three sub stages are acceptance, adaption and integration. “Denial is the inability to see cultural differences and is evident when individuals isolate or separate themselves in homogenous groups” (Bennett, 135). Defense is similar to denial; however, they are able to recognize cultural differences but have a negative outlook about other’s cultures (Bennett, 137). The last one in the ethnocentric category is minimization which when people can recognize and accept superficial cultural differences; however, they still view everyone as the same (Bennett, 138). The first one in the ethnorelative category is acceptance, which is when the individual is able to identify and appreciate one’s cultural differences such as values and behaviors (Bennett, 140). The next stage is adaption which is when individuals start to see “cultural

Cultural differences effect many aspects of our daily lives. With the many different cultures embedded in the United States, it is important that everyone has an understanding and respect for the melting pot that is encountered daily in our communities, workplaces and schools.