Cultural Shock Essay

Cultural Shock Essay
Cultural shock is the reaction to cultural differences after moving to a foreign country. It can be triggered by differences in food, social customs, and
language. The four phases of cultural shock are the honeymoon, rejection, regression, and adjustment phases (Levine). The honeymoon phase is
characterized by an excitement for new surroundings. During the rejection phase, frustration replaces the excitement; inconvenient cultural differences
become more noticeable, and adjustment is difficult. The regression phase, a period of isolation from the new culture, follows the rejection phase. This
isolation ends during the adjustment phase, when acclimation is finally reached.
Some argue that cultural shock is inevitable. They believe that...show more content...
Being aware of these differences beforehand creates the sense of expectation, and as a result, significantly reduces the shock from a cross–cultural
experience. As Andy Molinsky says, "Learning this [cultural] code is key because it's the first step in helping you devise a way to feel authentic and
be effective at the same time. It provides you with insight into the particular set of challenges you face when adapting your behavior in a particular
situation and how you might be able to adjust your behavior in order to respond to these challenges." For example, knowing about a foreign country's
customary formal greeting enables one to anticipate situations where this greeting must be used. One can then prepare for these situations: when a
formal greeting is necessary, they will known the appropriate behavior.
Alongside mental preparation is mental mindset. Cultural shock is characterized by the stark differences between two cultures. Keeping an open–mind
during the process of adaptation is crucial to successful adjustment. Studies have shown that "most people immersed in a foreign culture will
experience a negative evaluation of their differences..." (Winkelman). Here, Winkelman is describing aspects of the rejection phase: where differences
become viewed as inconveniences, and adjustment is a challenge. It is difficult, but important, to practice non–judgement and what Winkelman calls
"cultural relativism" – understanding how certain behaviors are reasonable
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Culture Shock Essay
Having to do new thing an embracing what may came with such are a pivotal issue in all of our lives. The umbrella in which all of these experiences
fall can be described as culture shock. Culture Shock can be anything from things like being in a new person's house to trying a new food. An
experience where I personally went through culture shock was when I got my dog Peanut. Coming from a family unit with just me and my
grandparents even a small dog was a huge change for me. There were I remember some ups and the downs that came with having a new pet. Generally
there are four stages of culture shock That I and most will encounter which are the honeymoon,disenchantment,beginning resolution and the effective
function stages. The...show more content...
In our case my grandparents as most parents do with animals reached this stage way before I did. Soon however this stage would hit me as well
for example the walks I loved taking soon became a choir. Soon me and the dog switched places in enthusiasm towards it. In this stage the "Do you
want to go for a walk" turned into "No, I'm too tired please dog". One of the other disenchanting things was that I lacked to put into consideration
the training for the dog and the cleaning up after him. I used to always hate having to go outside and clean up the poop around the yard in the heat.
Having to come home and find the smell of urine and things chewed is also never a good feeling. A major factor in the disenchantment phase can
be things like these where you are blindsided by their possibility and therefore you feel discouraged or angry at the task because of that. There is a
point in culture shock as in most other things that you just start to get used to what you're doing. This stage is called the beginning resolution
stage. In some cases of culture shock this could be things like learning where some of the basics are in a new city or school without having to
wonder. The point that I came to when I first got my dog is that some of the things I was unaware that I would have to do started to become more
clear and easier to do. After a few times of yelling "Peanut" or "grab that dog please" and me chasing him in the street for example, I learned to look

Culture Shock Essay
One of the biggest hindrances to people living in a new culture is the initial culture–shock that people experience, as well as the culture–stress that
occurs as time progresses. When a person enters a new culture, there are many noticeable differences from his/her own culture. These differences have
been labelled culture–shock and culture–stress. It is the initial differences, which is called culture–shock, that often cause worry, fear, and sometimes
withdrawl. However, these can be easily overcome through preparation and changes in attitude. As time progresses, there will be other issues that will
start to appear that can become even more troublesome; these are called culture–stresses. The problem with culture–stress is that it is a lot...show more
content...
These initial cultural differences that a person sees and experiences have been labelled Culture–shock. The dictionary defines culture–shock as "a sense
of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxiety that may affect people exposed to an alien culture or environment without adequate
preparation ". What this means is that the person will feel out of place due to the differences in culture. Culture–shock normally starts in earnest at
about six months after arrival , however its effects can be felt right away. Culture–shock is an issue that occurs individually, can last longer, and can
reoccur or the situations change . After the issue of culture shock has been overcome, a person will still come up against form of culture–shock called
culture–stress. Culture–stress is a feeling of anxiety or annoyance at the small cultural differences in the local culture; these differences are often
because a person does not understand the smaller nuances and how they differ from the home culture. The dictionary has no formal definition of
culture–stress, however it does define stress as "one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium, " which
is simply to say that stress is a tension that will knock you off balance.
The dangers that culture–shock and culture–stress cause are mostly related to the attitude of the person trying to adapt to the new local culture .
However, the fear or anger that culture–shock

Culture Shock
Daniel Dhanaraj
Descriptive Essay
Culture Shock: An Integration in a New Country
LIBS – 7001
February 21, 2011
The word 'CULTURE' has been derived from the Latin word 'CULTURA' which means to cultivate, to grow (Harper 2010). Anthropologist Edward B.
Taylor, definesculture as "That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits."
(O'Neil 2006). This is the basic premise that beliefs, morals, and customs are all based on one's culture. In the essay, "No Place Like Home" by Neil
Bissoondath, the author describes how multiculturalism creates uneasiness on different levels to immigrants in Canada. The author points that
Canada's Multicultural Act, focuses on cultural...show more content...
Living in Bangalore, the food culture that I was exposed too was something I had never quite experienced before. The combinations of highly
aromatic seasonings and flavours along with a mixture of hot, sour, sweet and salty dishes from different parts of India, were all available within
walking distance from my house. Every alternative day, I would have either breakfast, lunch, or dinner from the nearly dozen restaurants, cafes, and
food stalls that had opened for business within three months since I arrived. This became sort of a hobby, sampling the variety of dishes available, one
that I cherished the most. The booming economy and burgeoning development has made India more accessible to the world in–terms of tourism,
business growth and quality of life for its citizens. Influences from North America and Europe and funding by the government has provided cities and
towns all over the country with supermarkets, Walmart, that contain products from all over the world, mega shopping malls with the latest designer
clothing such as Tommy Hilfiger, Louis Vuitton and many others, modern restaurants, bars, and clubs such as KFC, Subway, McDonald's etc... In
addition, people have more money to spend, especially the growing middle class as the economy has grow rapidly since the late 90's. I was surprised
to witness, people of every ethnicity purchasing automobiles, high end

Culture Shock Essay
Culture is defined by Stephen Bochner (2003) as different beliefs and values. From the beginning of the chapter, it is made clear that although there are
many different definitions this is the most explicit. While focus is maintained on sojourners and tourists, the main idea is that changing cultures can
have a major impact on the way people function. Boncher tends to stick to the idea that stress and anxiety can be heavily induced not only by
encountering a different culture than an individuals own, culture– shock, but also through the way the new culture treats visitors from other cultures.
Kalervo Oberg in 1960 used culture– shock to describe how this stress of new cultures takes place in the individuals changing cultures. The idea that
...show more content...
One major way Bochner sees humans experiencing other cultures negatively is through differences in values. Seeing another culture thats values do
not align with our own can cause us to form more anger and anxiety in the presence of those cultures (Bochner, 2003). An example that strongly
supports Bochners assertion is the U.S. having strong women rights v.s. the middle east having little to none. The most consistent evidence Bochner
uses to back up his view point is his favored A, B, C's of culture shock. This acronym stands for 'Affect, behavior, and cognitions' (Bochner, 2003).
Affect is used to show the confusion and negative emotions felt by individuals in new cultures (Bochner, 2003). Things such as anxiety tend to happen
to people in new cultures which is the authors point in using this specific term. Behavior and cognition are closely related in the sense that they are
tested by scales and questionnaires to conclude the struggle sojourners have in new cultures. Bochner describes behavior as having three sub–categories
to it such as Instrumental Adjustment, Interaction Adjustment, and Relational Adjustment. Instrumental Adjustment is defined as the capacity of an
individual to guide themselves through an unfamiliar environment (2003). This can include sojourners understanding where to go for their needs,
pleasures, and potential growth. Having the ability to conduct day

Culture Shock Essay examples
Culture Shock
1 Definition of Culture
Culture as the most complex terms has countless different definitions ranging from complicated phrases to the simple statement describing culture as
"the way we do things around here". The widely used definition of culture is that of Meads (1951), "A body of learned behaviour, a collection of
beliefs, habits and traditions, shared by a group of people and successively learned by people who enter the society"(Joynt and Warner, 1996, P. 33).
Hofstede(1980) created the very illustrative definition of culture as "the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one
group or category of people from another". Again to Hofstede's...show more content...
With the rapid process of globalization, the individual's ability to adapt to new cultures is one of the most important elements of a successful
assignment. Hence, anyone working on an international assignment has to be knowledge about the cultural aspects of the environment they are
moving to.
2 Definition of Culture Shock
Nowadays there are many definitions for culture shock. The term Culture Shock was first mentioned in literature by Kalvero Oberg in 1960. In his
article he defined Culture Shock as follows' the distress experienced by the sojourner as a result of losing all the familiar signs and symbols of social
interaction' (Selmar, 1999, P.517). And these signs or cues include the thousand and one ways in which people orient themselves to the situations of
daily life. Oberg mentioned at least six aspects of culture shock:
(1) Strain due to the effort required to make necessary psychological adjustments.
(2) A sense of loss and feelings of deprivation in regard to friends, status, profession and possessions.
(3) Being rejected by and/or rejecting members of the new culture.

(4) Confusion in role, role expectations, values, feelings and self–identity.
(5) Surprise, anxiety, even disgust and indignation after becoming aware of cultural differences.
(6) Feelings of

Culture Shock Essay
Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from their own. It is also the personal
disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social
environments, or simply transition to another way of life. One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign
environment. Culture shock can be described as having 4 different phases. The first one is the honeymoon stage. The second is the negotiation stage.
Third is the adjustment stage and last is the adaptation stage. Common problems with culture shock include information overload, language barrier,
generational gap, technology gap, skill interdependence, formulation dependency, homesickness, infinite regress, boredom, response ability. There are
3 different outcomes to culture shock and there really is no true way to entirely prevent culture shock, as individuals in any society are personally
affected by cultural contrasts differently. During the honeymoon 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 foods, 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. Like most

1
Sina Khodaei
Instructor: Mr. Jacob Wilson
English 102
21th October 2017
Culture Shock among International Students in the United States
Every year, thousands of international students attend colleges and universities in the
United States which requires them to adapt to a new environment. This often results in a huge culture shock experience. Culture shock is defined as the
outcome of stress and tension resulting from contact with a new culture and the feelings of loss, confusion and impotence, which is often due to loss of
accustomed cultural cues and social rules. This research focuses on the impact of culture and language, religion, and personality on the adaptation of
international students to the U.S. culture. It also examines the adaptation process and culture shock experience of international students in the United
States by looking at similarities and differences among international students with different cultural backgrounds and determines how stress, social
support, English proficiency, region/country of origin and length of residence in the United States can affect the process of adaptation to a new culture.
According to Henya Kagan, most of the research on international students has considered the affective behavioural and cognitive consequences of
cross–cultural transition and has attempted to establish which individual, interpersonal, social, structural and economic factors reliably predict
adjustment. During the culture shock experiences and adaptation

Culture Shock
What is Culture Shock?
I would best describe Culture Shock as a roller coaster ride– fun and exciting, yet a little scary and daunting. It happens from Country to Country, from
state to state, city to city and within neighborhoods. Not everybody experiences it in the exact same way. Culture Shock occurs when one enters an
unfamiliar place where cultural traits, social norms, beliefs and customs may not be in line with what they are familiar with. Wikipedia best describes
Culture Shock in four phases; the Honeymoon, Negotiation, Adjustment and the Mastery Phase, and I've experienced them all firsthand and can attest
to their importance from an Anthropological standpoint.
My "Honeymoon stage" from the moment I stepped on the plane...show more content...
Everything goes well for a while until frustration and anger surfaces and before you know it adaptation is something that comes naturally.
Communication, respect, and the ability to stay open minded to other cultures is very important, it will only makes the transition easier.
Bibliography
Books: Lenkeit, R, (2008)Introdusing cultural Anthropology, USA, McGraw–Hill Companies,
Website or Webpage:Online Encyclopedia(n.a), (n.a) (2013) Culture Shock, Wikipedia. Wikimedia foundation Ink.Online document:
Pelon,P. & Hornby(1992) Culture Shock,

A True Culture Shock Essays
The United States is a continent with a diverse existing population today; this country is known as a melting pot of different cultures, each one unique
in its own respect. Culture; differentiate one societal group from another by identification beliefs, behaviors, language, traditions, Art, fashion styles,
food, religion, politics, and economic systems. Through lifelong and ever changing processes of learning, creativity, and sharing,culture shapes our
patterns of behavior and thinking. A culture's significance is so profound that it touches almost every aspect of who and what we are. Culture becomes
the telescope through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on around us. Trying to define the complex term of culture with varying...show
more content...
I had some serious objections to this whole game. Unfortunately, even as a human and realized that it was either going to be adaptation or getting
disappears without a trace out of this country, but my finances narrowed it down to the first choice. When someone stops by your home to visit, you
have to ask them if they want something to eat or drink as a tradition, and if they refuse, you have got them something anyway. When you invite
others for dinner or function, generally you should provide them with enough resource as the host, although it is not unusual for the invitees to
bring something too, depending on how many people are coming. When you invite others to go out eat at a restaurant, there is no assumption that
you will be automatically obliged to pay the costs of all meals, unless it is a special occasion such as a birthday, in which case you will be so
obliged. In addition, on occasions where you want to invite people, special invitation should be made explicitly for the occasion, and by asking others
if they want to get something to eat is ambiguous. For instance, Women's fashion changed a lot in the twenties. The fashion went from young lady to
more daring. The typical woman in the twenties is considered to be a brash teenage girl who no longer confined to home and tradition. They wore
short skirts and dresses exposing their thigh, knees and ankles. People were

Essay about Culture Shock
Positive Effects of Culture Shock
Positive Effects of Culture Shock
Thesis Statement: There are many positive effects of culture shock, such as meeting new people, knowing about personality and increasing the
knowledge.
Body:
1. Meeting new people a. Public places b. Help to know about new country and culture 2. Knowing about personality a. Be independent b. Own abilities
3. Increasing the knowledge a. New culture, history b. Second language
When I moved to United State, I missed my family and my friends, living in Iran. While not had any friends hare, I felt so sad and depressed.
Everything was new for me. I always asked myself why I came here. I spend my awful days in U.S....show more content...
Ford said she had been traversing Europe solo and was responsible for her own basic survival and safety" (P.1). Moreover, foreigners become more
self reliant because they don't have their parents to support and take care of them. They have to be responsible for their own choices and behaviors.
The point of being independent is learning about personality, potential and how people can improve their behaviors. It also helps them to modify
themselves to new environment. Furthermore, when people decide to go abroad, it helps them to learn about new culture and history. They
discover innovative lifestyle, and behaviors. Also, if language is different and foreigners don't know how they can speak, then they have a
superior reason for learning a new linguistic communication. As Seltzer (2009) said, when she moved to another state, she found out how life
style and culture can be different. Gabi didn't make herself ready for this big change but at the end she learned a lot of things about other people
and how they live. One thing that can be useful is Reading a book which is help to access all of the accumulated knowledge from the past and the
present and also to enhance vocabulary. Beside negative effects of culture shock, it can be helpful for people. When people go abroad for living or
saying there for long time, they can learn a lot about new place which is excellent. In addition, foreigners meet new

Cultural Shock Essay

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