Intercultural Communication Institute - Intercultural Development Inventory

Interpreting Your Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Profile

The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), developed by Dr. Mitchell Hammer and Dr. Milton Bennett, is a 50-item, theory-based paper and pencil instrument that measures intercultural sensitivity as conceptualized in Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS).

The DMIS is a framework for explaining the reactions of people to cultural differences. The underlying assumption of the model is that as one’s experience of cultural differences becomes more complex, one’s potential competence in intercultural interactions increases. Dr. Bennett has identified a set of fundamental cognitive structures (or “worldviews”) that act as orientations to cultural difference. The worldviews vary from more ethnocentric to more ethnorelative. According to the DMIS theory, more ethnorelative worldviews have more potential to generate the attitudes, knowledge, and behavior that constitute intercultural competence.

The IDI measures an individual’s (or group’s) fundamental worldview orientation to cultural difference, and thus the individual’s or group’s capacity for intercultural competence. As a theory-based test, the IDI meets the standard scientific criteria for a valid and reliable psychometric instrument.

The IDI Scales

The DD Scale measures a worldview that simplifies and/or polarizes cultural difference. This orientation ranges from a tendency toward disinterest and avoidance of cultural difference (a denial interpretive cluster) to a tendency to view the world in terms of “us” and “them,” where “us” is superior (a defense interpretive cluster). The denial cluster includes two additional interpretive clusters, disinterest in cultural difference and avoidance of interaction with cultural difference. This worldview is considered ethnocentric, meaning that one’s own culture is experienced as central to reality in some way.

The R Scale measures a worldview that reverses the “us” and “them” polarization, where “them” is superior. This reversal orientation is the “mirror image” of the denial/defense orientation and is similarly considered to be ethnocentric.

The M Scale measures a worldview that highlights cultural commonality and universal values through an emphasis on similarity (a tendency to assume that people from other cultures are basically “like us”) and/or universalism (a tendency to apply one’s own cultural values to other cultures). This worldview is considered to be “transitional” from more ethnocentric orientations measured by the “DD” and “R” scales to more culturally sensitive (ethnorelative) worldviews.

The AA Scale measures a worldview that can comprehend and accommodate complex cultural difference. This can range from acceptance (a tendency to recognize patterns of cultural difference in one’s own and other cultures) to adaptation (a tendency to alter perception and behavior according to cultural context). The adaptation cluster included two additional interpretative clusters, cognitive frame-shifting and behavioral code-shifting. This worldview is considered ethnorelative, meaning that one’s own and other cultural patterns are experienced in alternative cultural contexts.

The EM Scale measures a worldview that incorporates a multicultural identity with confused cultural perspectives. EM measures encapsulated marginality, which is one of the two theorized aspects of a broader developmental worldview called “Integration.” Encapsulated marginality refers to an experience of “cultural marginality” that is mainly characterized by feelings of alienation. The other part of Integration is constructive marginality, where the experience of cultural marginality incorporates the fluid movement in and out of cultural context. Constructive marginality is not now measured by the IDI, although efforts are underway to develop a CM scale.

The IDI Profile Graph

The IDI Profile graph identifies specific issues and impediments around cultural difference faced by the individual or group profiled. In this graph, a brief definition of each of the IDI scales is presented along with specific interpretive “clusters” for each of the IDI scales. The individual or group results are visually profiled as a colored bar extending horizontally from left to right.

A colored bar extending into the far right--hand third of the scale indicates that developmental issues in this general area are “resolved.”
A colored bar extending into the middle third of the scale indicates that developmental issues in this general area are “in transition.” An “in transition” profile in the interpretive clusters can provide insight into the specific kinds of issues involved.
A colored bar extending no further than the first third of the scale indicates that issues in this general area are “unresolved.” An “unresolved” profile in interpretative clusters can provide insight into the specific kinds of issues involved.

Interpreting your Overall Perceived and Developmental Intercultural Sensivity Profiles

The Overall Perceived and Developmental In-tercultural Sensitivity Profiles are presented as colored bars along the developmental continuum from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism. The length of the bars indicates your overall development towards ethnorelativism. The length of the bars does not indicate your resolution of any specific issues, as in the case in the following Worldview Profile and Developmental Issues graphs.

The Perceived Intercultural Sensitivity Profile in-dicates how you rate yourself in terms of intercultural sensitivity. The length of this bar is not adjusted to take into account any developmental factors.

Developmental Intercultural Sensitivity Profile indicates how the IDI rates you in developmental terms. This bar is typically shorter than the Perceived bar. The Developmental bar is adjusted to show the effect of ethnocentrism on the development of ethno-relativism.

Interpreting your DD Scale Profile

Resolved Issues: A profile in the “resolved” third of the scale indicates that you have successfully dealt with issues that might otherwise have been impeding your intercultural development. This profile suggests that you are generally interested in cultural differences, you may seek out interaction with culturally different people, and you are not inclined to polarize cultures into “us and them.”

In Transition Issues: A profile in the “transition” area indicates that you are still dealing with issues around simplifying or polarizing cultural difference, and that your worldview is still somewhat ethnocentric. Your experiences with cultural differences may be somewhat negative, with a tendency toward disinterest in cultural difference and/ or a tendency toward avoidance of interaction with culturally different people. Further, there may be a tendency to view the world in terms of “us” and “them,” where “us” is superior.

Issues: A profile in the “unresolved” area indicates a fairly ethnocentric world-view. This profile indicates that you generally experience a tendency to simplify nd/or polarize cultural difference. You may be quite disinterested in cultural difference, or your experiences with cultural differences may be generally so negative that you avoid them as much as possible. You may also have a tendency to view the world in terms of “us” and “them,” where “us” is superior. These issues need to be resolved for further intercultural development to occur.

Interpreting your R Scale Profile

Resolved Issues: A profile in the “resolved” area reveals that your intercultural experience is not affected by a tendency to reverse an “us” and“them” polarization, where “them” is superior. The profile indicates that you are not inclined to experience your own culture more negatively then you experience other cultures.

In Transition Issues: A profile in the “transition” area indicates that you are in the process of dealing with issues around the negative evaluation of your own culture. These issues may be interfering with increased intercultural sensitivity. This profile suggests that you may tend to polarize cultural difference by reversing “us” and “them,” considering “them” as superior.

Unresolved Issues: A profile in the “unresolved” area indicates that you clearly experience your own culture as inferior to one or more other cultures. You may be rejecting your own culture in favor of an assumedly superior other culture, either by “going native” or by taking on the cause of another culture group that defines your own culture as inferior. These issues need to be resolved for further intercultural development to occur.

Interpreting your M Scale Profile

Resolved Issues: A profile in the “resolved” area reveals that your experience of other cultures is not impeded by over-estimating the role of cultural commonality or universal values. This profile suggests that you probably do not assume that people’s similarity is, in general, more important than their differences.

In Transition Issues: A profile in the “transition” area indicates that you are still dealing with issues around the assumption of cultural commonality. You may be stressing cultural similarity and/ or universal values in a way that can mask crucial cultural differences. This often takes the form of an assumption of common needs, interests, and goals among people from different cultures and/ or an assumption of the universality of certain values, norms, religious beliefs, and/or practices.

Unresolved Issues: A profile in the “unresolved” area means that your experience of other cultures is heavily oriented toward underlying commonality. This profile indicates that you may have a strong commitment to the idea that people from other cultures are basically “like us,” or that people of other cultures should share the same set of “universal” values that you have. This profile reflects difficulties in identifying important cultural differences that influence intercultural relations. These issues need to be resolved before you can exercise your greatest potential of intercultural competence.

Resolved Issues: A profile in the “resolved” area reveals that you can comprehend and accommodate complex cultural differences. This profile suggests that you recognize patterns of cultural difference in your own and other cultures, and that you tend to shift perspective and behavior according to cultural context. Depending on your profile in other areas, a “resolved” profile in AA may indicate a very ethnorelative experience of other cultures.

In Transition Issues: A profile in the “transition” area indicates that you are dealing with issues around the acceptance of or adaptation to cultural difference. You may not yet be able to experience the existence of other cultures fully, or you may not yet be able to shift your perspective or behavior easily into other cultural contexts. This profile suggests that you may need to make more effort to comprehend complex cultural differences, or that you should attend more carefully to how different cultural contexts call for more change in perspective or behavior.

Unresolved Issues: A profile in the “unresolved” area means that your experience of other cultures does not include the acceptance of and adaptation to cultural difference. This profile probably reflects some difficulty in recognizing patterns of cultural difference in your own or other cultures. It also probably indicates a resistance to the need for changing perspective or behavior to account for different cultural contexts.

Interpreting your EM Scale Profile

Resolved Issues: Depending on your other profiles, an EM profile in the “resolved” area indicates that you either have not experienced identity cultural identity issues at all, or that you have transformed your experience into a more constructive form. This profile suggests that you are not experiencing difficulties with cultural identification, or that you are comfortable with a multicultural identity and the movement among different cultural identities.

In Transition Issues: A profile in the “transition” area reveals that you are dealing with identity issues that can interfere with increased intercultural sensitivity. This profile suggests that you may be experiencing confusion in cultural perspectives or discomfort around issues of cultural identification and movement between different cultural identities.

Unresolved Issues: A profile in the “unresolved” area reveals a clear experience of discomfort with cultural identity issues. This profile suggests you may be experiencing alienation from your own cultural experiences, either because you are uncomfortable with a multicultural identity or because you are unable to sort out competing cultural perspectives.