Stress impact new culture per person, experts call "culture shock". Sometimes similar concepts of "transition shock", "cultural fatigue" are used. Almost all immigrants experience it to one degree or another.
found in a foreign culture. It causes a mental health disorder, a more or less pronounced mental shock.
The term "culture shock" was coined in scientific circulation American researcher K. Oberg in 1960, when he noted that entering a new culture is accompanied by a number of unpleasant sensations. Today it is believed that the experience of a new culture
is unpleasant or shocking, on the one hand, because it is unexpected, and on the other hand, because it can lead to a negative assessment of one's own culture.
Usually there are six forms of manifestation culture shock:
Tension due to efforts made to achieve
Feelings of loss due to the deprivation of friends, their position,
profession, property;
Feelings of loneliness (rejection) in a new culture,
which can be transformed into a denial of this culture;
Violation of role expectations and sense of self-identification;
Anxiety, turning into indignation and disgust after
awareness of cultural differences;
Feelings of inferiority due to inability to cope
situation.
The main cause of culture shock is the difference in cultures. Each culture has many symbols and images, as well as stereotypes of behavior, with the help of which a person can automatically act in different situations. When a person finds himself in a new culture, the usual orientation system becomes inadequate, since it is based on other ideas about the world, other norms and values, stereotypes of behavior and perception. Usually, being in the conditions of his culture, a person does not realize that there is this hidden, outwardly
invisible part of the culture.
The range of symptoms of culture shock is very wide - from mild emotional disorders to severe stress, psychosis, alcoholism and suicide. In practice, it is often expressed in an exaggerated concern for the cleanliness of dishes, linen, water quality and
food, psychosomatic disorders, general anxiety, insomnia, fear. In terms of duration, one or another type of culture shock can develop from several months to several years, depending on individual characteristics
personality.
Of course, culture shock is not only Negative consequences. Modern researchers consider it as a normal reaction, as part of the normal process of adaptation to new conditions. Moreover, in the course of this process, the individual is not only
acquires knowledge about a new culture and norms of behavior in it, but also becomes more culturally developed, although it is under stress.
Stages of experiencing culture shock.
The first stage is called honeymoon”: most migrants, once abroad, sought to study or work, were full of enthusiasm and hope. In addition, they are often prepared for their arrival, they are expected, and at first they receive help and may have some privileges. But this period passes quickly.
At the second stage, unusual environment and culture begins to have its negative impact. The psychological factors caused by the misunderstanding of local residents are becoming increasingly important. The result can be frustration, frustration, and even depression. In other words, all the symptoms of culture shock are observed. Therefore, during this period, migrants are trying to escape from reality, communicating mainly with their fellow countrymen and complaining about their lives.
The third stage is critical, as culture shock reaches its maximum. This can lead to somatic and mental illness. Some migrants give up and return home to their homeland. But most of finds the strength to overcome
cultural differences, learning the language, getting to know local culture, acquires local friends, from whom he receives the necessary support.
At the fourth stage, an optimistic mood appears, a person becomes more self-confident and satisfied with his position in the new society and culture. Adaptation and integration into the life of the new society are progressing very
At the fifth stage, complete adaptation to the new culture is achieved. The individual and the environment henceforth correspond to each other.
Depending on the factors mentioned above, the adaptation process can last from several months to 4-5 years. Thus, a U-shaped culture shock development curve is obtained, which is characterized by the following steps: good, worse, bad, better, good.
Interestingly, when a person who has successfully adapted to a foreign culture returns to his homeland, he is faced with the need to undergo reverse adaptation (re-adaptation) to his own culture. It is believed that while he is experiencing "shock
return." A model of a W-shaped readaptation curve is proposed for it. It repeats the U-shaped curve in a peculiar way: at first, a person rejoices at the return, meeting with friends, but then he begins to notice that some features of his native culture seem strange and unusual to him, and only gradually he again adapts to life at home.
The severity of culture shock and the duration of intercultural adaptation depend on many factors. They can be divided into two groups - internal (individual) and external (group).
In the first group of factors, the most important are individual characteristics person - gender, age, character traits.
Scientists have identified a certain universal set personal characteristics, which a person who is preparing for life in a foreign country with a foreign culture should have: professional competence, high self-esteem, sociability, extroversion, openness to different views, interest in other people, a tendency to cooperate, tolerance for uncertainty, internal self-control, courage and perseverance, empathy. True, real life practice shows that the presence of these qualities does not always guarantee success.
The internal factors of adaptation and overcoming culture shock also include the circumstances of a person's life experience. The most important thing here is the motives for adaptation.
If a person already has experience of being in a foreign cultural environment, then this experience contributes to faster adaptation. Adaptation is also helped by the presence of friends among local residents, who help to quickly master the information necessary for life. Contacts with former compatriots also living in this
country, provide support (social, emotional, sometimes even financial), but there is a danger of becoming isolated in a narrow circle of communication, which will only increase the feeling of alienation.
External factors influencing adaptation and culture shock include: cultural distance, cultural characteristics, etc. Cultural distance - the degree of differences between the native culture and the one to which a person adapts. Features of the culture to which migrants belong - thus, representatives of cultures in which the concept of “face” is very important and where they are afraid to lose it adapt worse; they are very sensitive to the mistakes and ignorance that are inevitable in the process of adaptation. Representatives of the "great powers", who usually believe that it is not they who should adapt, but others, adapt with difficulty. The conditions of the host country, how friendly the locals are to visitors, whether they are ready to help them, communicate with
How to overcome culture shock?
Prepare in advance for the fact that you may experience culture shock. And it's completely natural.
Know that these feelings are temporary. As you get acquainted with the new environment, they will gradually disappear.
Take your favorite book with you mother tongue, a tape of your favorite music, and photos that will remind you of your culture when you're feeling down at home.
Keep yourself busy.
Try not to criticize everything around and not to focus on the negative.
Try to make friends with the people around you (work colleagues, classmates…).
Try to overcome mood swings and try to adapt to the new environment, absorbing as much knowledge and experience as possible. This in itself will reduce the effect of culture shock.
If you feel that the environment begins to weigh you down, remember that the problem is not with the people around you, but rather with your adaptation to them. The main thing is to try to become flexible, while maintaining your cultural identity and at the same time respecting the fact that people of other cultures will also retain their identity. Know that, no matter how difficult it is, culture shock gives you invaluable experience in expanding your outlook on life, deepening your understanding of yourself and developing tolerance for other people.
Often, contact with a different culture leads to a variety of problems and conflicts associated with a misunderstanding of a foreign cultural environment.
The concept of "culture shock" and its symptoms. Sometimes similar concepts are used - "transition shock", "cultural fatigue". In varying degrees, stress, or culture shock, is experienced by almost all immigrants who find themselves in a foreign cultural environment.
The term "culture shock" was introduced into scientific circulation by the American researcher K. Oberg in 1960. He noted that the entry of a person into a foreign culture is accompanied by unpleasant sensations. In our time, it is believed that the reasons for this lie, on the one hand, in the unexpectedness of a collision with the experience of a foreign culture, and on the other, in the possibility of a (also unexpected) negative assessment of one's own culture.
There are usually six forms of culture shock:
Tension due to efforts made to achieve psychological adjustment;
Feeling of loss of old friends, position in society, profession, property;
Feeling of loneliness (rejection) in a new environment, which can transform into a denial of a foreign culture;
Violation of role expectations and sense of self-identification;
Anxiety, turning into indignation and disgust after the realization of cultural differences;
Feelings of inferiority due to inability to cope with the situation.
main reason culture shock is a cultural difference. When a person finds himself in a new cultural environment, the usual system of orientation becomes inadequate, since it is based on other ideas about the world, other norms and values, stereotypes of behavior and perception. This hidden, outwardly invisible part of the native culture makes itself felt against the background of a foreign cultural environment.
The American culturologist R. Weaver likens this situation to the meeting of two icebergs. He argues that when two "cultural icebergs" collide, that underwater part of cultural perception, which was previously unconscious, comes to the surface, to the level of consciousness, and a person is aware of the presence of this hidden system of norms and values that control our behavior. The result of this is psychological, and often physical discomfort - culture shock.
Each person takes his ability to communicate with others for granted and, finding himself in a situation of misunderstanding, as a rule, experiences mental pain and disappointment, however, not realizing that his own inability to communicate adequately became the reason for this. It's about not only and not so much about ignorance of a foreign language, but about the ability to decipher the cultural information of a different cultural environment, about psychological compatibility with carriers of a different culture, about the ability to understand and accept their values.
The range of symptoms of culture shock is very wide - from mild emotional disorders to severe stress, psychosis, alcoholism and suicide. Outwardly, it is often expressed in an exaggerated concern for the cleanliness of dishes, linen, the quality of water and food, psychosomatic disorders, general anxiety, insomnia, and fear. This or that kind of culture shock can last from several months to several years, depending on the individual characteristics of the individual.
Culture shock brings with it more than just negative consequences. Today it is considered as a normal reaction, as part of the process of adaptation to new conditions. Moreover, in the course of this process, a person not only acquires knowledge about a new culture and norms of behavior in it, but also expands his horizons, although he experiences stress. So since the early 1990s. experts prefer to talk not about culture shock, but about acculturation stress.
Mechanism of development of culture shock first described in detail by K. Oberg, who argued that people gradually reach a satisfactory level of adaptation, passing through certain stages of experience. Today, to describe them, the so-called adaptation curve (U-shaped curve) is proposed, in which five steps are distinguished.
First stage called "honeymoon": most migrants, once abroad, are full of enthusiasm and hope for new life. In addition, as a rule, they are expected, preparations are made for their arrival, and at first they receive assistance and can enjoy certain privileges. But this period is short.
On second stage more and more important are the psychological factors caused by a lack of understanding of the local environment. The result can be frustration, frustration, and even depression. In other words, all the symptoms of culture shock are observed. Therefore, migrants try to escape from reality, communicating mainly with their countrymen and complaining about their lives.
Third stage- critical, as culture shock reaches its maximum. This can lead to somatic and mental illness. Some migrants give up and return to their homeland. But most of them find the strength to overcome cultural differences, learn the language, get acquainted with the local culture, make friends from the locals, from whom they receive the necessary support.
On fourth stage optimism is born, a person gains self-confidence and is satisfied with his position in the new society and culture. Adaptation and integration into the life of the new society are progressing very successfully.
On fifth stage full adaptation to the new culture is achieved. The individual and the environment henceforth correspond to each other.
Depending on the factors mentioned above, the adaptation process can last from several months to 4-5 years.
Thus, the U-shaped curve of the development of culture shock goes through the steps: good, worse, bad, better, good.
Interestingly, when a person who has successfully adapted to a foreign culture returns to his homeland, he is faced with the need to undergo reverse adaptation (re-adaptation) to his own culture. At the same time, he experiences a “shock of return”. To describe it, a model of the W-shaped readaptation curve is proposed, which in a way repeats the U-shaped curve: at first, a person rejoices at meeting his native places, with friends, but then he begins to notice that some features of his native culture seem strange and unusual to him, and only gradually he again adapts to life at home.
These models, of course, are not universal. For example, tourists, due to the short duration of their stay in a foreign country, do not experience culture shock and do not undergo adaptation.
Factors affecting culture shock: the degree of its severity and the duration of intercultural adaptation. All these factors can be divided into two groups - internal (individual) and external (group).
In the first group internal (individual) factors the most important are the individual characteristics of a person - gender, age, character traits.
Age is considered a critical element of adapting to a different community. So, small children adapt quickly and successfully, but already schoolchildren experience some difficulties, and older people are practically not capable of adaptation and acculturation.
Floor also affects the adaptation process and the duration of culture shock. It was previously believed that women are more difficult than men to adapt to a new environment. But this applies primarily to women from traditional societies, whose destiny in a new place is housework and, therefore, limited communication with new people. Women from developed countries do not find differences with men in their ability to acculturate. Yes, American women better than men adapt to new circumstances. Therefore, today it is believed that the factor is more important here education- the higher the education, the more successful the adaptation. Education, even without taking into account the cultural content, expands the inner possibilities of a person. The more complex a person's picture of the world, the easier and faster he perceives innovations.
In this regard, modern experts have tried to identify a universal set of personal characteristics that a person who is preparing for life in a foreign country should have. Among them are professional competence, high self-esteem, sociability, extroversion, openness to different views, interest in other people, a tendency to cooperate, tolerance for uncertainty, internal self-control, courage and perseverance, empathy. True, real life practice shows that the presence of these qualities does not always guarantee success. If the values of a foreign culture differ too much from the properties of a person, i.e. cultural distance is too great, adaptation will be very difficult.
Internal factors also include the circumstances of a person's life experience. The most important thing here is motives for adaptation. The strongest motivation distinguishes emigrants who strive to become full members of the new culture as soon as possible. High motivation is also present among students who receive education abroad. The situation is much worse for migrants and refugees who were forced to leave their homeland and do not want to get used to the new living conditions. It depends on the motivation of migrants how fully they get acquainted with the language, history and culture of the country where they are going. Having this knowledge certainly makes it easier to adapt.
The experience of being in a foreign cultural environment facilitates adaptation.
Adaptation is also helped by the presence of friends among local residents, and contacts with former compatriots who find themselves in this country. These factors provide support (social, emotional, sometimes even financial), but there is a danger of becoming isolated in a narrow social circle, which will only increase the feeling of alienation and may even cause ethnic prejudice. Therefore, the emigration authorities try to limit the residence of new migrants in homogeneous national groups.
Adaptation and culture shock are also affected external factors. These include cultural distance- the degree of differences between the native culture and the one to which a person adapts. It is important to note that adaptation is not even influenced by cultural distance itself, but primarily by a personal sense of cultural distance, which depends on many factors: for example, the presence or absence of wars or conflicts both in the present and in the past, knowledge of a foreign language and culture. In addition, subjectively, the cultural distance can be perceived as longer or shorter than it actually is. In both cases, the culture shock will last, and adaptation will be difficult.
Features of culture, to which migrants belong is another external factor. So, representatives of cultures where the concept of “face” is very important and where they are afraid to lose it are more difficult to adapt. Such people painfully perceive mistakes and ignorance, inevitable in the process of adaptation. Representatives of the "great powers", who usually believe that it is not they who should adapt, but others, adapt with difficulty.
Another external factor is host country conditions. Of course, it is much easier to adapt in a pluralistic society than in a totalitarian or orthodox one, as well as in countries where the policy of cultural pluralism is proclaimed at the state level, for example, in Canada or Sweden. It is impossible not to name such factors as the economic and political stability of the host country, the level of crime, the opportunity to communicate with representatives of another culture (which is real, if there is general work hobbies or other joint activities), the goodwill of local residents towards visitors, their willingness to help them, the position of the media that can affect the general emotional mood and public opinion.
Of course, culture shock is a complex and painful condition for a person. But it testifies to the breaking of stereotypes existing in a person, requiring him to spend physical and psychological resources. As a result, a new picture peace based on acceptance and understanding cultural diversity, the dichotomy "we - they" is removed, resistance to new trials appears, tolerance for the new and unusual. The main result is the ability to live in an ever-changing world, where borders between countries are becoming less important and direct contacts between people are becoming more important.
The concept of culture shock and its characteristics. Mechanism of development of culture shock. Determinants of culture shock
The problems of acculturation and adaptation are devoted to quite a few a large number of scientific research both in our country and abroad. The most important place among them are studies of the problems of psychological acculturation of migrants. When contacting a foreign culture, one gets acquainted with new artistic values, social and material creations, the actions of people that depend on the picture of the world, dogmas, value ideas, norms and conventions, forms of thinking inherent in a different culture. Of course, such meetings enrich people. But often contact with another culture also leads to various problems and conflicts associated with a misunderstanding of this culture.
2.1 The concept of culture shock and its symptoms
The stressful impact of a new culture on a person is called culture shock. Sometimes similar concepts are used - transition shock, cultural fatigue. To one degree or another, it is experienced by almost all immigrants who find themselves in a foreign culture. It causes a mental health disorder, a more or less pronounced mental shock.
The term "culture shock" was introduced into scientific use by the American researcher K. Oberg in 1960, when he noted that entering a new culture is accompanied by a number of unpleasant sensations. Today it is considered that the experience of a new culture is unpleasant, or shocking, on the one hand, because it is unexpected, and on the other hand, because it can lead to a negative assessment of one's own culture.
There are usually six forms of culture shock:
Tension due to efforts made to achieve psychological adjustment;
Feeling of loss due to deprivation of friends, position, profession, property;
A feeling of loneliness (rejection) in a new culture, which can turn into a rejection of this culture;
Violation of role expectations and sense of self-identification;
Anxiety, turning into indignation and disgust after the realization of cultural differences;
Feelings of inferiority due to inability to cope with the situation.
The main cause of culture shock is the difference in cultures. Each culture has many symbols and images, as well as stereotypes of behavior, with the help of which we can automatically act in different situations. When we are in the conditions of a new culture, the usual orientation system turns out to be inadequate, since it is based on completely different ideas about the world, other norms and values, stereotypes of behavior and perception. Usually, being in the conditions of one's culture, a person does not realize that there is this hidden part of the "cultural iceberg" in it. We realize the presence of this hidden system of norms and values that control our behavior only when we find ourselves in a situation of contact with another culture. The result of this is psychological, and often physical discomfort - culture shock.
Symptoms of culture shock can be very different: from exaggerated concern for the cleanliness of dishes, linen, water and food quality to psychosomatic disorders, general anxiety, insomnia, fear. They can result in depression, alcoholism or drug addiction, and even lead to suicide.
Of course, culture shock has more than just negative consequences. Modern researchers consider it as a normal reaction, as part of the normal process of adaptation to new conditions. Moreover, in the course of this process, a person not only acquires knowledge about a new culture and about the norms of behavior in it, but also becomes more culturally developed, although it experiences stress. Therefore, since the early 1990s, experts prefer to talk not about culture shock, but about acculturation stress.
Cases of voluntary or forced mass movements of ethno-cultural groups that leave the places of formation of the ethnos and its long-term residence and move to another geographical and cultural space are called ethnocultural migration.
The latter not only creates a new situation in the world, but also requires the settlers to acquire a new view of social life and own existence in it. Exploring the causes and motives of migration and emigration, the adaptation of migrants to other ethno-cultural and natural environment, the transformation of ethnic identity in different generations migrants, psychologists are trying to understand these phenomena in order to help people solve them psychological problems with adaptation to new conditions and overcoming “culture shock” (shock from the new).
The experience of perceiving a new culture is “shock” because it is unexpected and can lead to a negative assessment of both the native and the new culture. In addition, each culture has its own symbolic system of the social environment, verbal and non-verbal communication. Inner world a person depends on these signals, and when the invisible system of orientation in the world becomes inadequate in a new culture, a person experiences a shock (“shock”), as a result of which his mental health suffers. It is no coincidence that there are more mental illnesses among migrants than among natives.
"Culture shock" refers to a certain mental state of migrants, which they experience when confronted with a foreign culture. For the first time the term "culture shock" was introduced into scientific use by K. Oberg. The author identified the following symptoms of culture shock, manifested upon contact with an unfamiliar culture:
- tension caused by the efforts that a person needs for psychological adaptation in a new cultural environment;
- the emergence of a sense of loss associated with the loss of important former life things: status, friends, homeland, profession, property, etc.;
- the emergence of a feeling of rejection caused by the fact that a migrating person is not accepted (especially at first) by a new culture and its bearers, as well as a feeling of rejection when the person himself does not accept the new culture and its values;
- The occurrence of a failure in the role structure, when the roles used in one's native culture are not suitable for the new environment;
- The emergence of a crisis of self-identification and value system;
- The emergence of a sense of anxiety based on various emotions (surprise, disgust, indignation, indignation) arising from the awareness of cultural differences;
- The formation of a sense of inferiority, which may arise as a result of a person's inability to cope with a new situation and adapt to the values and norms accepted in it.
The state of "culture shock" has the following features of the course:
- Entering into a new culture is a confusing, embarrassing and disorganizing experience for every person;
- a strong nervous shock occurs, which occurs as a result of the influence of new conditions, when sensory, symbolic, verbal and non-verbal systems, which uninterruptedly ensured a normal life in their homeland, refuse to work adequately, i.e. when the usual patterns of life, which include traditions, norms , values and certain stereotypes and attitudes do not correspond new reality and new situations
- can provide and positive influence on personal growth, since the result of a culture shock may be the acquisition of new values, attitudes and patterns of behavior, and in a collision with another culture, an individual gains knowledge by experience; gains knowledge by experience;
- · contributes to the development of ethnic relativity and tolerance, when an individual begins to understand the sources of his own ethnocentrism and acquires new views and assessments in relation to other peoples.
After the hypothesis of culture shock put forward by K. Oberg, a large number of studies have appeared on the difficulties that visitors face when mastering a new cultural environment. An analysis of the work on the problem of culture shock was carried out by famous scientists Adrian Furnham and Stephen Bochner in the famous work "Culture Shock: Psychological Responses to Unfamiliar Environments" (1986), where they, summing up, give the following definition of culture shock: "Culture shock is a shock from new. The culture shock hypothesis is based on the fact that the experience of a new culture is unpleasant or shocking, partly because it is unexpected, and partly because it can lead to a negative assessment of one's own culture.
Most often, culture shock has negative consequences, but attention should also be paid to its positive side, at least for those individuals whose initial discomfort leads to the adoption of new values and behaviors and, ultimately, is important for self-development and personal growth. Proceeding from this, the Canadian psychologist J. Berry even suggested using the concept of “acculturation stress” instead of the term “culture shock”: the word shock is associated only with negative experience, and as a result of intercultural contact, positive experience is also possible - assessing problems and overcoming them.
As a rule, the problem of culture shock is considered in the context of the so-called adaptation curve. In accordance with this curve, G. Triandis identifies five stages in the process of adaptation of visitors.
The first stage, called the "honeymoon", is characterized by enthusiasm, high spirits and high hopes. Indeed, most visitors seek to study or work abroad. In addition, they are expected in a new place: the people responsible for the reception try to make them feel “at home” and even provide them with some privileges.
At the second stage of adaptation, the unfamiliar environment begins to have its negative impact. For example, foreigners coming to our country are faced with uncomfortable from the point of view of Europeans or Americans living conditions, overcrowded public transport, a complex criminal environment and many other problems. In addition to such external circumstances, in any culture new to a person, psychological factors also influence him: feelings of mutual misunderstanding with local residents and their rejection. All this leads to frustration, confusion, frustration and depression. During this period, the "stranger" tries to escape from reality, communicating mainly with fellow countrymen and exchanging impressions of the "terrible natives" with them.
In the third stage, the symptoms of culture shock can reach a critical point, which manifests itself in serious illness and a sense of complete helplessness. Unsuccessful visitors who have not been able to successfully adapt to the new environment “get out of it” - they return home ahead of schedule.
However, much more often visitors receive social support environment and overcome cultural differences - learn the language, get acquainted with the local culture.
At the fourth stage, depression is slowly replaced by optimism, a sense of confidence, and the person feels more fit and integrated into society.
The fifth stage is characterized by full - or long-term, in Berry's term - adaptation, which involves relatively stable changes in the individual in response to environmental requirements. Ideally, the process of adaptation leads to a mutual correspondence between the environment and the individual, and we can talk about its completion. In the case of successful adaptation, its level is comparable to the level of adaptation of the individual at home. However, one should not equate adaptation in a new cultural environment with simple adaptation to it.
Each person reacts differently to each of the stages, as a result of which some stages can last both very long and proceed very quickly. The duration and severity of culture shock is influenced by many factors, such as mental health, personality type, experience of long trips abroad, socio-economic conditions, language skills, support, level of education.
So, the five stages of adaptation form a U-shaped curve: good, worse, bad, better, good. But the trials of even successfully adapted visitors do not always end with the return to their homeland, as they have to go through a period of readaptation, experience the “shock of return”. At first, they are in high spirits, happy to meet relatives and friends, have the opportunity to communicate in their native language, etc., but then they are surprised to note that they perceive the features of their native culture as unusual or even strange.
According to some researchers, the stages of readaptation repeat the U-shaped curve, so the concept of the W-shaped adaptation curve was proposed for the entire cycle.
Numerous empirical studies conducted in last years, call into question the universality of U- and W-shaped curves. Indeed, when people enter a new cultural environment, they do not necessarily go through all the stages of adaptation and readaptation. First, not all visitors experience culture shock, if only because some of them - tourists - usually return home before the end of the first stage. Secondly, a stay in a foreign country does not necessarily begin with a "honeymoon", especially if one's own and foreign cultures are very different from each other. Thirdly, many visitors do not complete the adaptation process, as they leave as soon as they begin to feel the symptoms of culture shock. Fourth, returning home is not always traumatic.
How to deal with culture shock:
- - take up your favorite hobby;
- - remember your own positive experience;
- - remember that there are always resources that you can use;
- - be patient, everything takes time;
- - don't push yourself too hard;
- - try to lead a lifestyle similar to what you led at home, this will help you suppress the feeling of longing;
- - maintain contact with representatives of your ethnic group. This will give you back the feeling that you are still part of this world and brighten up your loneliness;
- - more contact with a new culture, learn the language, feel free to communicate;
- - set simple goals and achieve them, evaluate your progress;
- - learn to get along with situations that do not satisfy you 100%;
- - keep self-confidence;
- - do not refuse help, there will always be a person ready to help.
The concept of culture shock was popular until the 1970s. 20th century, but Lately the term “acculturation stress” is becoming increasingly popular. Acculturation stress is similar in its meaning to culture shock, but to a lesser extent focuses on negative symptoms. Among the latter, researchers most often mention elevated level anxiety and depression.
List of used literature
culture shock adaptation
- 1. Galustova O.V. Ethnopsychology: lecture notes. - M.: Prior-izdat, 2005. - 160 p.
- 2. Gritsenko V.V. Cross-cultural psychology: educational and methodical. allowance for students. - Smolensk, 2008. - 24 p.
- 3. Kuznetsova T.V. Psychology of culture: (Psychological and philosophical analysis): course of lectures. - K.: MAUP, 2005. - 152 p.: il.
- 4. Stefanenko T.G. Ethnopsychology. - M., 1999. - 320 p.
- 5. Smolina T.A. Adaptation to a foreign cultural environment: analysis of related concepts // Human Psychology: An Integrative Approach. Digest of articles. - St. Petersburg, 2007. - p. 162-167
1. Introduction
2. The concept of culture shock
3. Aspects of culture shock
4. Stages of cross-cultural adaptation
5. Ways to overcome culture shock
6. References
Introduction
From the earliest times of war and natural disasters, the search for happiness and curiosity make people move around the planet. Many of them - immigrants - leave their homes forever. Visitors (diplomats, spies, missionaries, business people and students) long time live in a foreign culture. Tourists, as well as participants in scientific conferences, etc. find themselves in an unfamiliar environment for a short period of time.
One should not think that in itself the establishment of direct contacts between representatives different countries and nations leads to a more open and trusting relationship between them. All migrants, in one way or another, face difficulties in interacting with local residents, whose behavior they are not able to predict. The customs of the host country often seem mysterious to them, and people - strange. It would be an extreme simplification to believe that negative stereotypes can be destroyed by directives, and acquaintance with an unusual way of life, customs and traditions will not cause rejection. An increase in interpersonal communication can also lead to an increase in prejudice. Therefore, it is very important to determine under what conditions communication between representatives of different countries and peoples is the least traumatic and generates trust.
Under the most favorable conditions of contact, such as constant interaction, joint activities, frequent and deep contacts, relatively equal status, the absence of obvious distinguishing features, a migrant or visitor may experience difficulties and tension when communicating with representatives of the host country. Very often, migrants are seized by homesickness - nostalgia. As noted German philosopher and psychiatrist K. Jaspers (1883–1969), feelings of homesickness have been familiar to people since ancient times:
“Odysseus is tormented by them and, despite external well-being, we are driven around the world in search of Ithaca. In Greece, especially in Athens, exile was considered the greatest punishment. Ovid later found many words to complain about his longing for Rome... The expelled Jews wept by the waters of Babylon, remembering Zion.”
The pain of separation from the homeland is also felt by modern migrants. According to a sociological survey of many of the "fourth wave" emigrants, i.e. those. who left former USSR in recent years, nostalgia has been tormenting: in Canada - 69%, in the USA - 72%, in Israel - 87%
That's why great importance acquires the study of intercultural adaptation, in a broad sense understood as a complex process by which a person achieves compliance (compatibility) with a new cultural environment, as well as the result of this process.
Concept of culture shock
Culture shock- the initial reaction of individual or group consciousness to the collision of an individual or group with a foreign cultural reality.
concept culture shock introduced into scientific use by an American anthropologist F.Boas(created a school of cultures in the USA in the 1920s, the ideas of which were shared by many researchers. Founder of ethnolinguistics.
The study of cultures led him to the conclusion that it is impossible to draw conclusions about the discovery without complex factual data. general laws development). This concept characterized the conflict between old and new cultural norms and orientations: old, inherent in the individual as a representative of the society that he left, and new, i.e. representing the society in which he arrived.
Culture shock was seen as a conflict between two cultures at the level of individual consciousness.
Culture shock- a sense of embarrassment and alienation, often experienced by those who are unexpectedly exposed to culture and society.
The interpretation of culture shock can be different, it all depends on what definition of culture you take as a basis. If we take into account the book of Kroeber and Kluckhohn "Culture: a critical review of concepts and definitions", then we will find more than 250 definitions of the concept of culture.
Culture shock symptoms very varied:
Constant concern about the quality of food, drinking water, cleanliness of dishes, bed linen,
Fear of physical contact with other people
general anxiety,
Irritability,
Lack of self-confidence
Insomnia,
feeling of exhaustion
Alcohol and drug abuse,
psychosomatic disorders,
Depression, suicide attempts
The feeling of loss of control over the situation, of one's own incompetence and failure to fulfill expectations can be expressed in bouts of anger, aggressiveness and hostility towards representatives of the host country, which does not at all contribute to harmonious interpersonal relations.
Most often, culture shock has negative consequences, but attention should also be paid to its positive side, at least for those individuals whose initial discomfort leads to the adoption of new values and behaviors and, ultimately, is important for self-development and personal growth. Proceeding from this, the Canadian psychologist J. Berry even suggested using the concept of “acculturation stress” instead of the term “culture shock”: the word shock is associated only with negative experience, and as a result of intercultural contact, positive experience is also possible - assessing problems and overcoming them.
Aspects of culture shock
Anthropologist K.Oberg singled out 6 Aspects of Culture Shock :
1) the tension to which the efforts required to achieve the necessary psychological adaptation lead;
2) a sense of loss or deprivation (of friends, status, profession and property);
3) a feeling of rejection by representatives of a new culture or their rejection;
4) failure in roles, role expectations, values, feelings and self-identification;
5) unexpected anxiety, even disgust and indignation as a result of awareness of cultural differences;
6) feelings of inferiority from the inability to "cope" with the new environment.
Stages of cross-cultural adaptation
Anthropologist Kaferi Oberg, In 1960, he first coined the term culture shock. The definition was presented in the form of 4 main stages of a person's stay in a foreign culture:
1. The stage of the "honeymoon" - the initial reaction of the body to
cordial, friendly welcome of the hosts. A person is fascinated, perceives everything with admiration and enthusiasm.
2. Crisis - the first significant differences in language, concepts, values, seemingly familiar symbols and signs, lead to the fact that a person has a feeling of inconsistency, anxiety and anger.
3. Recovery - exit from the crisis is carried out different ways, as a result of which, a person masters the language and culture of another country.
4. Adaptation - a person settles into a new culture, finds his niche, begins to work and enjoy the new culture, although sometimes he feels anxiety and tension.
The first stage, called the "honeymoon", is characterized by enthusiasm, high spirits and high hopes. Indeed, most visitors seek to study or work abroad. In addition, they are expected in a new place: the people responsible for the reception try to make them feel “at home” and even provide them with some privileges.
But this stage quickly passes, and at the second stage of adaptation, the unusual environment begins to have its negative impact. For example, foreigners coming to our country face uncomfortable living conditions from the point of view of Europeans or Americans, overcrowded public transport, a difficult criminal situation and many other problems. In addition to such external circumstances, in any culture new to a person, psychological factors also influence him: feelings of mutual misunderstanding with the locals and rejection by them. All this leads to frustration, confusion, frustration and depression. During this period, the "stranger" tries to escape from reality, communicating mainly with fellow countrymen and exchanging impressions of the "terrible natives" with them.
In the third stage, the symptoms of culture shock can reach a critical point, which manifests itself in serious illness and a sense of complete helplessness. Unsuccessful visitors who have not been able to successfully adapt to the new environment “get out of it” - they return home ahead of schedule.
However, much more often visitors receive social support from the environment and overcome cultural differences - they learn the language, get acquainted with the local culture. In the fourth stage, depression is slowly replaced by optimism, a sense of confidence and satisfaction. A person feels more adapted and integrated into the life of society.
The fifth stage is characterized by full - or long-term, in Berry's term - adaptation, which involves relatively stable changes in the individual in response to environmental requirements. Ideally, the process of adaptation leads to a mutual correspondence between the environment and the individual, and we can talk about its completion. In the case of successful adaptation, its level is comparable to the level of adaptation of the individual at home. However, one should not equate adaptation in a new cultural environment with simple adaptation to it.
Based on the latest model, the Galahori spouses in 1963 singled out the concept of a curve similar to English letter U, along which a person, as it were, passed, getting into a foreign culture, in the process of adaptation.
The rosy idea of a foreign culture is replaced by depression, which, reaching its peak, transforms into a stage of adaptation. But continuing their research, Galahori came to the conclusion that when returning home, a person experiences feelings identical to the adjustment process (this phenomenon is often called reverse or return shock). Now man is adapting to his native culture. The U model has been converted to the W model.
