Minimisation

At level three of the model people think that we are all the same because we are all human beings. Cultural differences are considered as irrelevant and pointless. Persons at this stage emphasise that all humans are similar and have common basic values, emotions, hopes and needs.

At this level persons recognise and accept superficial cultural differences such as clothing or eating habits, but they consider such differences as unimportant in comparison to the commonalities of being human.

Most people at level three support universal political, moral and/or religious principles.

Typical statements at this point

There might be different customs, but when you get familiar with people you realise that we are all the same.

We are all children of God.

The key to getting along in any culture is to just be yourself, authentic and honest.

No matter what culture, people are motivated by the same things.

Developmental Tasks

The competences to be developed at this stage are cultural awareness and self-awareness. Content of training measures could be definitions of culture, ethnicity, stereotypes and generalisations. Moreover, differences in communication styles and nonverbal behaviour should be imparted. The learners should be stimulated to develop curiosity towards differences and their backgrounds.

At this stage it is also useful to present categories and frameworks for understanding the own culture and its values and beliefs. Self-awareness should be promoted in order to raise sensitivity towards cultural differences.

Markus Mainka, fotolia

The intercultural skills to achieve at this level are general cultural knowledge, open-mindedness, the ability to perceive others appropriately and the ability to maintain a nonjudgmental attitude in spite of perceived differences.

Project Partners

Casework is a cooperation between the Innovation in Learning Institute (ILI), the ECC Association for Interdisciplinary Consulting and Education, the INTRGEA Institute for Development of Human Potentials, and Oxfam Italy. More info…