Shock

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Cultural Shock

Culture is the way of life of certain members of a group, involving the way they think and act (CESA 1). When one migrates to a different country everything changes. Adapting to a new culture is a process that takes a lot of time. Culture shock is the difficulty of having to adjust a new culture due to migration and a move between social environments (Farlex 1).

Cultural shock occurs in four distinct phases. The first is the honeymoon phase where an individual is interested in learning the new culture. This happens in the first weeks of migration. The second phase is negotiation phase where the differences between the old and new culture becomes clear. The individual develops symptoms such as home sickness, sleeping a lot, isolation, and frustration (Harzing 1). The third stage is adjustment phase where the individual has learnt the culture new culture and knows what to expect in different circumstances. The last stage is mastery phase, at this point individual has adapted the new culture and is comfortable with it (Pedersen 20). Reverse cultural shock may also occur when a person returns home and finds it hard to adapt to their old culture (BV 2).

The theory is important because it shows the need to understand other cultures. It explains the means of coping cultural shock. It enables people to converge the old and new culture. However, the theory does not focus on the uniqueness of each individual and their experiences (Farlex 1).

It can be used by a person who is having a hard time to cope in a new country due to cultural differences. For instance a person who migrates from Africa to Europe may find it hard to adjust to the new culture. This theory can be used by such an individual to adjust with ease.

Work Cited

BV, Expatica Communications. Reverse culture shock: What, when, and how to cope. 18 October 2011. 30 October 2013 .

CESA. Cultural Shock. 2010. 2010 Occtober 2013 .

Farlex. Culture shock in...