I. Understanding culture shock

A. Culture shock: defining characteristics

1. Culture shock: a stressful transition to an unfamiliar environment

2. ABCs of culture shock:

a. Affectively: anxiety, confusion, and desire to be elsewhere

b. Behaviorally: confused as to norms and rules

c. Cognitively: lack competence to interpret bizarre behaviors

B. Culture shock: pros and cons

1. Negative implications: psychosomatic problems, affective upheavals, interaction awkwardness, and cognitive exhaustion

2. Effective management brings positive well-being, self-esteem, and behavioral competence

C. Managing culture shock: Underlying factors that produce better results

1. Motivational orientation: volunteers do better than those who move involuntarily

2. Personal expectations: realistic, accurate positive expectations

3. Cultural distance: less difference between cultures gives better results

4. Sociocultural adjustment: ability to fit in, length of residence

5. Psychological adjustment: feelings of well-being and satisfaction

6. Personality attributes: tolerance for ambiguity, internal locus of control, personal flexibility, and mastery can help adaptation

D. Managing culture shock: initial tips

1. Increase motivation to learn about new culture

2. Keep expectations realistic and increase familiarity with new culture

3. Increase linguistic fluency, understand values linked to behaviors

4. Work on tolerating ambiguity and other flexibility attributes

5. Develop close friends and acquaintanceships to manage loneliness

6. Suspend ethnocentric evaluations of intercultural behaviors

II. Intercultural adjustment: developmental patterns

A. Intercultural adjustment: short-term and medium-term adaptive process of sojourners (temporary residents voluntarily abroad)

B. The U-curve adjustment model

1. Initial adjustment: optimistic or elation phase

2. Crisis: stressful phase, overwhelmed by their own incompetence

3. Regained adjustment: settling-in phase, effective coping

C. The revised W-shaped adjustment model

1. Honeymoon stage: excited, curious about new environment     

2. Hostility stage: major emotional upheavals (loss of self-esteem and self-confidence)

3. Humorous stage: learn to laugh at their cultural faux pas      

4. In-sync adjustment stage: at home, experience identity security

5. Ambivalence stage: grief, nostalgia, pride, relief, at going home

6. Reentry culture shock stage: not anticipating reentry shock (usually feel more depressed and stressed than during entry shock)

7. Resocialization stage:

a. Resocializers quietly assimilate with few changes

b. Alienators never fit back into home culture

c. Transformers act as agents of change in their home cultures

D. Culture shock: peaks and valleys

1. Understand that peaks and valleys are part of growth process

2. Be aware and keep track of various goals in new culture

3. Take time and space to adjust

4. Develop strong and weak ties for a cushion, seek help in crisis

5. Reach out to participate in host cultures major cultural events

III. Reentry culture shock

A. Reentry culture shock: surprising elements for sojourners

1. Identity change

2. Nostalgic and idealized images of home culture

3. Difficulty reintegrating into old roles

4. Letdown due to unexpected distance with family and friends

5. Family and friends impatient with listening to sojourners stories

6. Home cultures demand for role conformity

7. Absence of change in home culture, or too much change

B. Resocialization: different returnees profiles

1. Resocialized returnees: do not recognize having learned new skills; fit-back-in strategy: they resocialize quietly

2. Alienated returnees: aware of new skills, difficulty applying; distance-rejective strategy: are onlookers in home culture

3. Proactive returnees: highly aware of new values, skills; integrate these into the home culture

IV. Intercultural toolkit: recaps and checkpoints

            Practical tools for managing sojourners culture shock:

A. Realize culture shock is inevitable

B. Culture shock arises due to unfamiliar environment; develop a support network

C. Stress is due to acute disorientation regarding unfamiliar norms and scripts; establish contacts with members of host culture

D. Intense feeling of incompetence; seek positive mentors

            E. Transitional affective phase that varies in intensity; maintain sense of humor and emphasize positive aspects of environment