Culture Shock
stressful transition period when individuals move from a familiar environment to an unfamiliar one
ABCs of Culture Shock
Affective
Behavior
Cognitive
Culture Shock Underlying Factors
- Motivational Orientation
- Personal Expectations
- Cultural Distance
- Psychological Adjustment
- Sociocultural Adjustment
- Communication Competence
- Personality Attributes
U-Curve Adjustment Model
- Initial adjustment
- Crisis
- Regained adjustment
Revised W-Shape Adjustment Model
- Honeymoon
- Hostility
- Humorous
- In-Sync
- Ambivalence
- Reentry Culture Shock
- Resocialization
3 Types of Hostile Adjustors
Early returners
Time servers
Participators
Resocialized Returnees
Don’t recognize they’ve learned new skills; psychologically distant from experience
Alienated Returnees
Aware of new skills/ideas but have difficulty applying knowledge; become onlookers in home culture
Proactive Returnees
Highly aware of changes and try to integrate
Oberg’s Identity Disorientation State
- Sense of identity loss
- Identity strain bc of effort required for psychological adaptaton
- Identity rejection by members of new culture
- Identity confusion
- Identity powerlessness bc of inability to cope w/new environment
PROS of Culture Shock
Heightened positive self-esteem
Enhanced tolerance for ambiguity
Behavioral competence
Cognitive openness/flexibility
CONS of Culture Shock
Psychosomatic problems
Loneliness, isolation, depression, etc.
Cognitive exhaustion
