Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)
entry by Julie M. Marx, Global Family Expert at Expat Valley
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), created by Milton J. Bennett, is a grounded developmental framework that explains how people experience and organize cultural difference along a continuum from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism. It posits six core positions Denial, Defense (including Reversal), Minimization, Acceptance, Adaptation, and Integration, each describing a characteristic way of perceiving and responding to us/other distinctions in intercultural situations. Rooted in constructivist perception and communication theory, the DMIS assumes that as individuals develop more complex ways of noticing and interpreting cultural difference, they become capable of more sophisticated intercultural experience and behavior. The model was originally designed as a diagnostic tool for intercultural trainers and educators, helping them tailor learning interventions to the learners predominant position rather than treating intercultural competence as a fixed trait. In global family and mobility contexts, DMIS-informed practice supports professionals in meeting internationally mobile adults and children where they are developmentally, normalizing ethnocentric starting points while intentionally supporting growth toward ethnorelative orientations.
Comparable terms
Bennett Scale (intercultural education); Intercultural sensitivity stages (education, training); Intercultural competence development continuum (HR/mobility, coaching); IDI Intercultural Development Inventory theoretical foundation (assessment)
Why this matters
DMIS provides one of the most widely used developmental maps for understanding how people make sense of cultural difference over time, which is foundational for designing effective intercultural learning for globally mobile families and professionals. It allows educators, counselors, and coaches to distinguish between lack of awareness, defensiveness, minimization, and genuinely ethnorelative perspectives, and to choose interventions that are challenging but still appropriate to the learners current position. In international school, HR, and clinical settings, DMIS-informed assessments help prevent overestimating intercultural capacity based on surface experience alone, and instead focus on the underlying perceptual organization that predicts sustainable intercultural competence.
Cross-references
Intercultural Sensitivity (Identity & Belonging); Intercultural Competence (Cultural Adaptation); Ethnocentrism (Cultural Adaptation); Ethnorelativism (Cultural Adaptation); IDI (Cultural Adaptation); Intercultural Trainer (Professional Support Roles); Intercultural Coach (Professional Support Roles). These entries document the perceptual capacity, behavioral competence, attitudinal poles, assessment tool, and professional roles that are theoretically linked to and frequently operationalized through the DMIS framework.
Sources
Bennett, M. J. 1986. A developmental approach to training for intercultural sensitivity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10(2), 179–196. Bennett, M. J. 1993. Towards ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Education for the Intercultural Experience (2nd ed., pp. 21-71). Intercultural Press. IDRInstitute. The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS).
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