About ICCI Model
Over the years, in my work as a higher education professional and cross-cultural trainer, I have given a lot of thought to the interactions that occur between people who come from different cultural backgrounds. I tend to define 'cultural background' pretty broadly, including race, ethnicity, language, national origin, tribal affiliation, geographic region, socioeconomic class, profession, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion/spiritual tradition, and (dis)ability, among many others. I see each person as a complex amalgam of varying cultural influences and identities that can change over time. As we interact with each other across these cultural differences, it can be useful--or even essential--to keep in mind that each of us brings the values we have gained from our evolving cultural identities (Kim, 2009; Ting-Toomey, 2005); and the behavior, thoughts, and emotions of our cross-cultural approaches (Deardorff, 2006; Hammer, 2012). The Individual Cross-Cultural Interactions Model provides a set of questions that support an individual's reflections about their interactions (also see an example scenario). If you are interested in going one step further, I would encourage you to take a look at the Intercultural Development Inventory®, an instrument that can give you some options for improving your cross-cultural effectiveness.