Culture Shock

WS 2001 / 2002The training of cross-cultural competence and skillsJanuary 29, 2002Prof. Dr. Jürgen BenekeJessica Ackmann, Nikolaus KüsterCulture Shock"Culture shock might be called an occupational disease of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad."(Oberg 1960: p. 185)Introduction:When transferred to another culture, you lose all the familiar cues you knew from your own culture (body language, familiar signs and symbols...).These cues are not carried on the level of conscious awareness. In another culture, all of them are completely removed (“a fish out of water“, Oberg 1960), causing frustration, anxiety, feeling rejected by and rejecting the host culture. This comes in different phases, originally described by the anthropologist Kalvero Oberg in 1960, who coined the term “culture shock“.General Oberg-based models: U- and W-curve:U-curve:1.Euphoria: fascinating and exciting new environment.2.Culture shock: the foreigner is confronted with the negative sides of the host culture, anxiety and frustration set in.3.Acculturation: the visitor begins to accept his new environment, improves his language skills...4.Stable state: the host culture is finally accepted, the degree to which the culture traveller adapts to it can vary.W-curve:The W-curve is an extension of the U-curve and refers to findings on repatriation. The majority of expatriates experience a culture shock back home, which is also called “re-entry shock“ or “reverse culture shock“.Reasons:The "software of the mind" (Hofstede) does not work in a different cultural environment. Symptoms:- depression and feelings of helplessness- hostility towards the host culture and its members- home sickness: The positive aspects of the home culture are remembered, often the original culture is glorified.- physical fear of contact with host culture members and items (such as water for drinking and washing, food, medical assistance...)- Foreigners often join together to complain about the host culture and strengthen their mutual belief that it is evil and responsible for their problems.- stereotypingPossible Outcomes:identificationw. original cultureidentification w.host cultureAssimilation: The culture traveller rejects his culture of origin and adapts to the host culture, completely converting to its norm, values and behaviours.Separation: The host culture is rejected and the norms of the original culture are strengthened. This leads to segregation, ethnocentrism and racism.Marginalisation: Both cultures are perceived as being "equal", but mutually incompatible. The culture traveller doesn't feel "at home" in neither his original nor his host culture.Integration: Both cultures are perceived as being "equal" AND mutually compatible. The sojourner becomes multicultural and feels "at home" in both his original and host culture.Specific Groups, Motives & Problems:There are different types of culture travellers with specific motives and problems.TouristsInternational StudentsBusiness SojournersSpouses and ChildrenImmigrantsRefugeesNew Models and Criticism:- There's no salient follow-up model to Oberg's original ideas, but after fourty years of research on the topic, it has become clear that the U-curve theory is not always relevant.- Culture travellers have to be divided into different groups, according to their specific situation.- Ward, Furnham & Bochner came up with the ABC model that explains the CS as a mixture of affective, behavioural and cognitive reasons.- Affective: stress and coping (Culture travel / CS as an extremely stressful life event), social support, expectations, consideration of psychological characteristics before departure, preparation and treatment after transition.- Behavioural: differences in body language, general behaviour (e.g. Hofstede's cultural dimensions), preparatory culture training- Cognitive: social identity, in- and out-grouping, attribution and stereotyping, cultural differences affect how people perceive each other and themselvesPreparation, Training and Coping Strategies:- It is possible and advisable to let sojourners receive at least some pre-departure preparation and training.- Also on-site mentoring (business people, students) and psychological treatment are useful in dealing with culture shock.- Candidates for positions abroad should be selected carefully, according to positive and negative characteristics. Close consideration is necessary to select the right person for the right task.- The motives of sojourners are often ignored and their will to go abroad is often overestimated. - The expectations of expatriates should be realistic.- There are numerous possibilities for training sojourners. We already heard about these in this seminar (culture general / culture specific training, simulations, cultural assimilator...).Bibliography:Hofstede, Geert (1997): Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill.Maletzke, Gerhard (1996): Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.Oberg, Kalvero (1960): Culture Shock and the Problem of Adjustment in New Cultural Environments. In: Weaver, Gary R. (Ed.)(1998): Culture, Communication and Conflict. Readings in Intercultural Relations. Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster Publishing.Ward, Colleen/Bochner, Stephen/Furnham, Adrian (2001): The Psychology of Culture Shock. Hove, East Sussex: Routledge.Marx, Elisabeth (2000): Vorsicht Kulturschock. So wird Ihr beruflicher Auslandseinsatz zum Erfolg. Frankfurt/New York: Campus Verlag.。