Intercultural Competence
entry by Julie M. Marx, Global Family Expert at Expat Valley
The capacity to perceive and respond appropriately to cultural difference, adapting one’s behavior and perspective to function effectively across cultural contexts. Understood developmentally: a continuum from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism, rather than a fixed trait.
Comparable terms
Intercultural sensitivity (Bennett’s preferred term — emphasizes perceptual development) · Cross-cultural competence (HR/military — functional framing) · Cultural intelligence [CQ — organizational psychology; distinct construct emphasizing motivational and metacognitive dimensions] · Global competence (education — broader, includes geopolitical awareness)
Why this matters
Intercultural competence is the backbone of thriving in global family life. It explains why some people grow through mobility while others feel diminished by it. Seeing it as developmental helps parents and organizations design age‑appropriate and role‑appropriate support.
Cross-references
Intercultural Sensitivity (Cultural Adaptation); Global Mindset (Cultural Adaptation); DMIS (Cultural Adaptation); IDI (Cultural Adaptation); CQ (Cultural Adaptation); Cultural Agility (Cultural Adaptation); ICC (Cultural Adaptation); CCT (Cultural Adaptation). The DMIS provides the developmental theory of intercultural competence; the IDI measures it; CQ describes a related but distinct psychological construct emphasizing motivational and metacognitive dimensions; and cultural agility describes the behavioral meta-competency that applied intercultural competence produces. ICC is the communication-specific dimension of intercultural competence. CCT is the structured intervention designed to develop intercultural competence in organizational and educational contexts.
Sources
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), created by Milton J. Bennett, is a grounded theory positing that more complex perceptual categories yield more sophisticated intercultural experience, progressing through stages from Denial to Integration. Wiley Online Library Bennett, M.J. (1986). A developmental approach to training for intercultural sensitivity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10(2), 179–196.
Hammer, M.R., Bennett, M.J., & Wiseman, R. (2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27, 421–443.
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