Culture Shock

 I thought it would be useful for people around the world to better understand what Culture Shock  really is. I have experienced it myself when I went to Nepal and India. I experienced a little of it in Japan because of different body language and the way people tend to think. But, it is much less noticeable because everything looks similar to the U.S. and Europe there. So, unless you are really communicating with locals and they are being honest with you you likely aren't going to experience much difference. But, the difference (at least in 1985 and 1986) when I went to Nepal and India were extreme, especially when I first entered Bihar State and got on a bus there at Raxaul heading towards Bodhgaya. I was pretty scared at first under I began to understand what was going on which was so completely different than the U.S. I sort of felt like I was in the Wild West of the U.S. in the 1800s right along with steam trains and macho, anti-feminist attitudes of men and women at that time in the country only willing to travel in groups of ten women or more to protect themselves if they were single from rape. One place I needed to slap my wife in the face as an act just to get a room because she was talking back to me. She completely understood and wasn't angry because it was the only way to get a hotel room one place we traveled through. We were traveling with our 3 kids at the time. But remember this was 1985 not today which is very different than then. At that time out in the country most women were not allowed to be educated and acted sort of like they were 10 or 12 years old giggling all the time. But, women in places like New Delhi acted more like people from the U.S. and Europe generally at that time. But, the absolute worst experience I had was coming back to the U.S. after being there. This is called Reverse Culture shock because I found I loved the intimacy of the Indian Culture and was horrified at how cold as a culture we actually were when I returned to the U.S. We were treated like Gold Plated E.T. 's  (my step son who was 14 at the time coined the (Gold plated E.T. phrase) which was abslutely how we were treated. At that time only about 40 percent of the people were educated. So, as a middle class person from the U.S. we literally seemed to be people from another planet to most people out in the country and sometimes 100s of people would gather to stare at us. (This really took some getting used to. One time the police came and told us to get back on the bus in 100 plus degrees with no airconditioning because they couldn't guarantee our safety as westerners. Because people had never seen people with blue or green eyes or white skin in that town before I guess then in 1985 and 1986. OH. By the way you might still have to get used to being stared at in places where people might not be educated about western (avert your eyes) ways. It takes some getting used to when 1000 people gather in a circle around you while talking about you to each other.

 

Culture shock

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For uses of Culture Shock as a proper noun, see Culture shock (disambiguation).

Culture shock is the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, or to a move between social environments, also a simple travel to another type of life.^[1]

Enthusiastic welcome offered to the first Indian student to arrive in Dresden, East Germany (1951)

One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign environment. Culture shock can be described as consisting of at least one of four distinct phases: Honeymoon, Negotiation, Adjustment, and Mastery, are the most common attributes that pertain to existing problems, further hindrances include: information overload, language barrier, generation gap, technology gap, skill interdependence, formulation dependency, homesickness (cultural), infinite regress (homesickness), boredom (job dependency), response ability (cultural skill set). ^[2] There is no true way to entirely prevent culture shock, as individuals in any society are personally affected by cultural contrasts differently.^[3]

Contents 1 The four phases 1.1 Honeymoon phase 1.2 Negotiation phase 1.3 Adjustment phase 1.4 Mastery phase 2 Reverse culture shock 3 Outcomes 4 Transition shock 5 See also 6 References

The four phases

Honeymoon phase

During this period, the differences between the old and new culture are seen in a romantic light. For example, in moving to a new country, an individual might love the new food, the pace of life, and the locals' habits. During the first few weeks, most people are fascinated by the new culture. They associate with nationals who speak their language, and who are polite to the foreigners. This period is full of observations and new discoveries. Like most honeymoon periods, this stage eventually ends.^[4]

Negotiation phase

After some time (usually around three months, depending on the individual), differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety. Excitement may eventually give way to unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger as one continues to experience unfavorable events that may be perceived as strange and offensive to one's cultural attitude. Language barriers, stark differences in public hygiene, traffic safety, food accessibility and quality may heighten the sense of disconnection from the surroundings.^[5]
While being transferred into a different environment puts special pressure on communication skills, there are practical difficulties to overcome, such as circadian rhythm disruption that often leads to insomnia and daylight drowsiness; adaptation of gut flora to different bacteria levels and concentrations in food and water; difficulty in seeking treatment for illness, as medicines may have different names from the native country's and the same active ingredients might be hard to recognize.
Still, the most important change in the period is communication: People adjusting to a new culture often feel lonely and homesick because they are not yet used to the new environment and meet people with whom they are not familiar every day. The language barrier may become a major obstacle in creating new relationships: special attention must be paid to one's and others' culture-specific body language signs, linguistic faux pas, conversation tone, linguistic nuances and customs, and false friends.
In the case of students studying abroad, some develop additional symptoms of loneliness that ultimately affect their lifestyles as a whole. Due to the strain of living in a different country without parental support, international students often feel anxious and feel more pressure while adjusting to new cultures—even more so when the cultural distances are wide, as patterns of logic and speech are different and a special emphasis is put on rhetoric.

Adjustment phase

Again, after some time (usually 6 to 12 months), one grows accustomed to the new culture and develops routines. One knows what to expect in most situations and the host country no longer feels all that new. One becomes concerned with basic living again, and things become more "normal". One starts to develop problem-solving skills for dealing with the culture and begins to accept the culture's ways with a positive attitude. The culture begins to make sense, and negative reactions and responses to the culture are reduced.^{[citation needed]}

Mastery phase

In the mastery stage assignees are able to participate fully and comfortably in the host culture. Mastery does not mean total conversion; people often keep many traits from their earlier culture, such as accents and languages. It is often referred to as the biculturalism stage

Reverse culture shock

Reverse Culture Shock (a.k.a. "Re-entry Shock", or "own culture shock"^[6]) may take place — returning to one's home culture after growing accustomed to a new one can produce the same effects as described above. This results from the psychosomatic and psychological consequences of the readjustment process to the primary culture.^[7] The affected person often finds this more surprising and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock. This phenomenon, the reactions that members of the re-entered culture exhibit toward the re-entrant, and the inevitability of the two are encapsulated in the saying "you can't go home again," first coined by Thomas Wolfe in his book of that title.

Outcomes

There are three basic outcomes of the Adjustment Phase:

• Some people find it impossible to accept the foreign culture and integrate. They isolate themselves from the host country's environment, which they come to perceive as hostile, withdraw into a "ghetto" and see return to their own culture as the only way out. These "Rejectors" also have the greatest problems re-integrating back home after return.^{[citation needed]}
• Some people integrate fully and take on all parts of the host culture while losing their original identity. They normally remain in the host country forever. This group is sometimes known as "Adopters".
• Some people manage to adapt to the aspects of the host culture they see as positive, while keeping some of their own and creating their unique blend. They have no major problems returning home or relocating elsewhere. This group can be thought to be somewhat cosmopolitan.

Culture shock has many different effects, time spans, and degrees of severity.^[8] Many people are handicapped by its presence and do not recognize what is bothering them.

Transition shock

Culture shock is a subcategory of a more universal construct called transition shock. Transition shock is a state of loss and disorientation predicated by a change in one's familiar environment which requires adjustment. There are many symptoms of transition shock, some which include:

• Excessive concern over cleanliness and health
• Feelings of helplessness and withdrawal
• Irritability
• Anger
• Glazed stare
• Desire for home and old friends
• Physiological stress reactions
• Homesickness
• Boredom
• Withdrawal
• Getting "stuck" on one thing
• Suicidal or fatalistic thoughts
• Excessive sleep
• Compulsive eating/drinking/weight gain
• Stereotyping host nationals
• Hostility towards host nationals^[9]

See also

• Cultural cringe
• Future Shock
• Information overload
• Student exchange program

References

1. ^ Macionis, John, and Linda Gerber. "Chapter 3 - Culture." Sociology. 7th edition ed. Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada Inc., 2010. 54. Print.
2. ^ Pedersen, Paul. The Five Stages of Culture Shock: Critical Incidents Around the Worldd. Contributions in psychology, no. 25. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1995.
3. ^ Barna, LaRay M. "HOW CULTURE SHOCK AFFECTS COMMUNICATION." Communication 5.1 (n.d.): 1-18. SocINDEX with Full Text. EBSCO.29 Sept.2009.web.
4. ^ Oberg, Dr. Lalervo. "Culture Shock and the problem of Adjustment to the new cultural environments". World Wide Classroom Consortium for International Education & Multicultural studies. 29 Sept 2009.
5. ^ Mavrides, Gregory PhD “Culture Shock and Clinical Depression.” Foreign Teachers Guide to Living and Working in China. Middle Kingdom Life, 2009. Web. 29 Sept. 2009.
6. ^ Martin Woesler, A new model of intercultural communication – critically reviewing, combining and further developing the basic models of Permutter, Yoshikawa, Hall, Hofstede, Thomas, Hallpike, and the social-constructivism, Bochum/Berlin 2009, book series Comparative Cultural Sciences vol. 1
7. ^ Huff, Jennifer L. "Parental attachment, reverse culture shock, perceived social support, and college adjustment of missionary children." Journal of Psychology & Theology 29.3 (2001): 246-264.29 Sept 2009.Web
8. ^ Christofi, Victoria, and Charles L. Thompson "You Cannot Go Home Again: A Phenomenological Investigation of Returning to the Sojourn Country After Studying Abroad." Journal of Counselling & Development 85.1 (2007): 53-63. SocINDEX with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 15 Oct. 2009.
9. ^ CESA. “dealing with culture shock.” Management Entity: Office of International Research, Education, and Development. Web. 29 Sept. 2009. <http://www.oired.vt.edu/cesa/currentstudents/cs_culturalshock.htm>