To investigate intercultural sensitivity, the Davis Russell-Peters Intercultural Sensitivity Instrument
(1994) was administered to 203 participants situated within residences in the formerly white suburb
of Westville Durban, South Africa. The subjective experience of the participants was evaluated
by comparing demographic variables with a suggested continuum of six stages between
ethnocentrism and ethnorelativism. Respondents appeared to traverse the polarities related to their
perceptions of reality and its subjective meaning. The preference for ethnocentric attitudes appeared
to be a construct employed as a result of categorization and separation caused by former restrictive
legislation of Apartheid. and strong cultural and religious anchors. It appears that groups gravitate
towards their own cultural group because of the security it offers in times of political unrest and
fear. Also, groups appeared to maintain healthy self-concepts and a preference for ethnorelativism,
creating a world that values difference and is open to integration with the larger society.
