CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT CULTURE SHOCK ADJUSTMENT PROCESS

CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT

CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT CULTURE SHOCK ADJUSTMENT PROCESS RE-ENTRY PROCESS INDIVIDUAL REACTIONS CULTURAL DISLOCATION OVERCOMING CULTURE SHOCK

CULTURE SHOCK • CS is a psychological disorientation that most people experience when living in a culture markedly different from one’s own • CS is a result of total immersion in a new culture. • CS happens to people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad where they became anxious because they do not speak the language, know the customs, or understand people’s behavior in daily life

Symptoms of Cultural Shock 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) Sadness, loneliness, melancholy Preoccupation with health Aches, pains, and allergies Insomnia, desire to sleep too much or too little Changes in temperament, depression, feeling vulnerable, feeling powerless Anger, irritability, resentment, unwillingness to interact with others Identifying with the old culture or idealizing the old country Loss of identity 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) Trying too hard to absorb everything in the new culture or country Unable to solve simple problems Lack of confidence Feelings of inadequacy or insecurity Developing stereotypes about the new culture Developing obsessions such as over-cleanliness Longing for family Feelings of being lost, overlooked, exploited or abused

(1) Honeymoon period ADJUSTMENT PROCESS (1) Honeymoon period (5) Acceptance & Integration (3) Initial Adjustment (2) Culture Shock (4) Mental Isolation

(1) Honeymoon period RE-ENTRY PROCESS (1) Acceptance & integration (3) Return Honeymoon (2) Return anxiety (5) Re-integration (4) Re-entry shock

INDIVIDUAL REACTIONS Elmer (2002)

CULTURAL DISLOCATIONS • The reaction someone makes in a cross-cultural encounter determines the result he gets. • A positive reaction—characterized with openness, acceptance & trust — & produce rapport and understanding. • A negative reaction—characterized with suspicion, fear, prejudice—& produce alienation and isolation. • The outcomes a cross-cultural encounter can be of three types: 1) The encapsulators, i. e. people who keep on avoiding or fighting the second culture by trying to creating a ‘small exclusive world’ based on their first or original culture. 2) The cosmopolitan, which refers to people who adjust to both the first (original) and the second culture as well. 3) The absconder, i. e. people who adjust to the second culture and “ignore” their first (original) culture. To get more complete description, look at the following diagram.

Toilets—Climate Food—Water Heat—Illness Roads—Shops Driving—Money Markets—Transportation Etiquette—Custom Habit—Belief Language—Traits Religion Differences that cause disorientation FLIGHT: Rejection Retreatism Insulation Regression FIGHT: Hostility Anger “Shock” Disgust Disapproval THE ENCAPSULATOR · avoid or fight the local (second) culture · build ‘Little Batak’, ‘Little China’, etc. · Minimum contact with local people Goes ‘native’, Falls in love with the new culture, Adopts life-style, food, dress, speech, etc. May take up citizen-ship in local country May marry a local person Optimism, Empathy, Positive Outlook. Interest, Acceptance, Curiosity, Cross-Cultural Education Cross-Cultural Contact THE COSMOPOLITAN · Adjust to both local (second) and original cultures · Aloof in both worlds · About equal contact with both THE ABSCONDER · Adjust to local (second) culture · Minimum contact with original culture · Maximum contact with local people

OVERCOMING CULTURE-SHOCK 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Open your mind Participate Talk about it Be in contact Be Humorous