Culture shock
Culture shock refers to the disorientation individuals may feel when they move from their familiar culture to a new one, which can occur whether the relocation is temporary or permanent. This experience can affect anyone transitioning to a different social or geographic environment, including study-abroad students, international workers, and military personnel. The phenomenon often arises due to significant cultural differences, such as language, customs, and social norms, which can lead to feelings of stress, loneliness, and frustration.
Research indicates that individuals typically progress through a U-shaped adjustment curve consisting of four phases: the honeymoon phase, crisis phase, recovery phase, and adjustment phase. Initially, individuals may feel excited and overlook cultural differences, but as they confront challenges in the crisis phase, stress and homesickness can emerge. The recovery phase marks a transition to greater comfort and understanding of the new culture, leading to the adjustment phase where individuals feel more confident and capable in their new environment.
It is crucial to recognize the signs of culture shock, which may include anxiety, anger, and loneliness, and to implement strategies for coping, such as preparing for the cultural transition and maintaining connections to one’s original culture. Additionally, reverse culture shock can occur when returning home, as individuals may struggle to reintegrate into their familiar environment after experiencing significant changes abroad.
Culture shock
Culture shock is the term used to describe the personal disorientation individuals may experience when leaving their culture to live in a different culture. Culture shock can affect anyone who moves (temporarily or permanently) to a new social or geographic region. Study-abroad students, international business travelers, and members of the military are just some examples of the types of people who may experience this phenomenon.
Causes of Culture Shock
Relocating to a new city, state, or country can be a difficult adjustment for some people. This is especially true if the culture in the new region differs greatly from the person's own culture. The language, clothing, food, and weather in the new region may be completely alien to the person. These differences can lead to culture shock for some individuals.
Not everyone who moves to a new place experiences culture shock. Additionally, some people are more severely affected by culture shock than others. Several factors influence the difficulty an individual may experience when adjusting to a new culture.
These factors may include the following:
- familiarity with and knowledge of the new culture
- expectations about life in a new city, state, or country
- duration of the individual's stay in the new region
- an individual's ability to communicate with members of the new culture
- the time an individual has to prepare for the move to a new location
- the degree to which the new culture differs from the individual's own culture
However, research shows that many individuals who relocate to a new region adhere to a U-shaped adjustment curve with four phases. Researcher Sverre Lysgaard developed this curve in 1955 after observing 200 Norwegian Fulbright scholars who had spent time in the United States.
Lysgaard's Phases of Culture Shock
Lysgaard's U-shaped model of cultural adjustment has four phases: honeymoon phase, crisis phase, recovery phase, and adjustment phase.
Honeymoon Phase
This phase is sometimes known as the excitement stage. During this phase, most people experience feelings of elation as they are exposed to new things and meet new people. Most people ignore cultural differences and focus on similarities instead. Individuals in the honeymoon phase often brush off minor negative experiences. Their relationships with people in their new environment tend to be superficial at this stage. The length of the honeymoon stage varies depending on the individual. For some, the phase can last weeks or months, while it may only last a few days for others.
Crisis Phase
Culture shock tends to set in during the crisis phase. This is when the differences between the individual's culture and the host region's culture can create feelings of stress, anxiety, and frustration. Such feelings can be brought on by a variety of challenges, such as social interactions with natives and adjusting to new rules or cultural norms. Some individuals may experience anger, while others may feel exceptionally lonely or homesick. People in this stage may isolate themselves from natives in the culture and gravitate toward individuals from their homeland. They may also begin to doubt themselves and their capabilities at school or work. The length of this phase is determined by the individual's ability and willingness to assimilate and become a member of the new culture's society.
Recovery Phase
This is the stage when individuals realize that they must find a way to exist in this new culture. They gradually feel more at ease as they learn how to function in their new environment. They also begin to establish relationships with members of the host society, and they learn how to handle new cultural experiences.
Adjustment Phase
Also known as the mastery phase, this is when individuals begin to feel confident in their host culture. They are able to communicate effectively, and they feel confident in their abilities to form deeper relationships with others and navigate school, work, and social situations. Soon, these individuals build a support system in the new culture. This system helps them cope when feelings of stress, anxiety, or frustration return.
Dealing with Culture Shock
It is important to recognize the symptoms of culture shock, which may include the following feelings and signs:
- homesickness
- anxiety
- sadness
- anger
- loneliness
- lack of concentration
- isolating one's self from individuals who are different
Although culture shock is not a medical condition and it often cannot be avoided, individuals can take steps to manage it. Preparing oneself for life in a new place is one of the best steps in managing culture shock. Individuals can do research about the host culture and try to learn the language if it differs from their own. In addition, they need to manage their expectations about life in a new place and realize that they will face some challenges. Finally, individuals should try to maintain relationships with friends and family back home while developing new relationships in their new environment. This will allow them to immerse themselves in the new culture and still feel connected to their own culture and homeland.
Reverse Culture Shock
Returning home, however, is not a source of instant relief and familiarity for many people, who instead experience reverse culture shock. It is a phenomenon that is not as accepted or understood as culture shock, but it is the experience of culture shock upon returning home. The experience of reverse culture shock has the same U-shaped bell curve as culture shock. The longer someone has been out of their home country, the harder it may be to adjust when they return home because their home country is both different from the one they just left and the home that they remember from years before. The transition can also be more difficult if it was unexpected or involuntary. In particular, a return to the United States from abroad can cause a person to become critical of American culture and to experienceidentity confusion and depression.
Bibliography
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