Critical Incidents

Critical incidents are intercultural misunderstandings that are recorded as case studies of human behavior in the interaction of short narratives. They offer introspective insights into contexts of intercultural perception, interpretation, and evaluation (cf. Knapp).

Definition

Critical Incidents are especially popular in teaching or training multicultural relations. More specific and targeted measures are more likely to result in cultural bias. The reason for this is that Critical Incidents are more open-ended and involve the complexity of real-life situations in which individuals from more than one culture encounter each other. While the focus on observable behavior is a major advantage, the considerable time and effort required to collect and meaningfully code the incidents is a disadvantage (cf. Pedersen 1995, 1 ff.).

History and fields of application

The Critical Incident Method, developed in the 1940s in the USA, is a qualitative survey instrument of empirical research. Nowadays, the method is applied in the fields of medicine, teacher training, flight training, consulting, organizational development, intercultural research and in the areas of intercultural training (cf. Göbel 2003, 2).

Understanding culture shock better

In relation to intercultural research, critical incidents, the collection of experiences of a stay abroad by several people, can be used to evaluate the experiences in order to.

1. they provide first-hand accounts of individuals in the process of adjustment and change under culture shock.
2. each misunderstanding provides a specific example of an individual’s encounter with other cultures.
3. cross-sectional examples show a change in emphasis that can be differentiated in a growth toward multicultural awareness in various stages.
4. case studies provide valuable examples for discussion and learning about multicultural awareness.
5. critical incidents contain the complexity of intercultural encounters through narratives (cf. Pedersen 1 ff.).

Literature

Göbel, Kerstin (2003): Critical Incidents – Learning from difficult situations. Presentation at the symposium Lernnetzwerk Bürgerkompetenz https://www.dipf.de/de/forschung/aktuelle-projekte/pdf/biqua/critical- incidents-aus-schwierigen-situationen-lernen [02.01.2019].

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351450749_Critical_Incidents_in_der_interkulturellen_Lernpraxis_des_Deutschunterrichts

Knapp, Annelie: Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in Studies. Critical Incidents in Communication at Universities. http://www.mumis- projekt.de/mumis/index.php/ci-methode [03.01.2019].

Pedersen, Paul (1995): The Five Stages of Culture Shock. Critical Incidents Around The World. Westport, Conneticut: Greenwood Press.