CULTURE SHOCK

1. Definition of Culture shock

The term of Culture Shock firstly comes from Oberg who emphasizes to the communication. Oberg states that Culture Shock is an anxiousness appearing because of the lost of sign and symbol of familiar social relation. Definition of culture shock develops and emphasizes to psychological explanation. Adler defines culture shock as a set of emotional reaction to the loss of the first culture owned by the individual and replaced with the new stimulus culture, so it causes misunderstanding, feeling of over a barrel, high temperamental, and the anxiety of deceit, hurt, or not cared. According to Gudykunst dan Kim (2003), culture shock is reactions of situation where the individual get shock and pressure caused by the different environment, so it affects disturbance of self concept, cultural identity, and appear temporary anxiousness with no reasons.

From some definitions above, the conclusion is that culture shock is a temporary individual reaction, whether in physics or psychology, appearing because the difference of culture when someone move from his country to another.

2. Characteristics of Culture Shock

Oberg (Pyvis & Anne, 2005) states 6 characteristics of Culture Shock, as following :

a. stress in adaptating the psychologis

b. feeling of loss of friends, statues, social role and personal position

c. anxiety of refused by new culture

d. confuse in self role, value, feeling and self identity

e. shock, worried, disgusted after realizing the difference of culture

f. feeling impotent of incapability to have adaptation with new environment.

3. Honeymoon Stage

One of the most powerful, practical, and productive concepts in the field of international educational exchange is that of “culture shock,” described as the physical, psychological, and behavioural reactions that often occur when individuals are attempting to live, work, or study in unfamiliar cultural contexts. Culture shocks happening when a person  move to a completely new environment, not knowing what to do or how to do things in a new environment, and not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate. It generally starts during the first few days/weeks of arriving in a new place.

In culture shock, we recognize the stage in which we need an adaptation in all aspects of life when people go to another country. It is a honeymoon stage. It may run for a few days, weeks or to six months depending on the circumstances. In this stage, they have many troubles in daily life relating to others. Other people may help them but they still do not understand about the visitors’ difficulty, and even they are insensitive and unsympathetic to visitors and their worries.

Culture shock includes the physical and emotional discomfort someone suffers when coming to live in another country or a place different from what they know. The way they lived before may not work in the new place. There is general agreement on the broad definition of culture shock as a reactive phenomenon occurring as a result of culture change and including both cognitive  and  affective  components  combining  to  produce  extraordinary  stress  on  the individual migrant. The locus of this stress is variously identified.  It is alternately regarded as the source and result of alienation from the new culture.

4. Factors Influencing Culture Shock

Parrillo (2008) states there are several factors that influence the culture shock as following:

§  Intrapersonal factors including skills (communication skills), previous experience (in cross-cultural setting), personal traits (self or tolerance), and access to resources. Physical characteristics such as appearance, age, health, also affect the ability of socialization. Research shows age and gender associated with culture shock. Younger individuals growing niche to experience culture shock That is higher than in individuals Who Are older, and and women are more tend to culture shock than men (Kazantzis  dalam Pederson, 1995).

§  Cultural variation affects the transition from one culture to another. Culture shock is faster if the culture is more different, this includes social, behaviour, customs, religion, education, the norm in society, and language. Bochner (2003) states that the different cultures between two individuals interact, the more difficult the both individual build and maintain a harmonious relationship. Pederson (1995) states that the more different between the two cultures, the social interaction with local students will be getting lower.

§  Social and political manifestations can also affect the culture shock. The attitude of the local community can lead to prejudice, stereotypes, and intimidation.

5. Symptoms of Culture Shock

Everyone has different action in facing Culture Shock, but there are some symptoms which usually happen. The symptoms of culture shock can show up at different times, and sometimes conflict in feelings overlap. Some symptoms of culture shocks:

§  Sadness, loneliness, melancholy;

§  Preoccupation with health; 

§  Aches, pains, and allergies; 

§  Insomnia or a desire to sleep too much;

§  Changes in temperament, including depression or feeling vulnerable, powerless, or lethargic;

§  Anger, irritability, resentment, or unwillingness to interact with others; 

§  Identifying with the old culture or idealizing the old country; 

§  Loss of identity; 

§  Trying too hard to absorb everything in the new culture or country, or to abandon your own ways; 

§  Inability to solve simple problems; 

§  Lack of confidence or feelings of inadequacy or insecurity; 

§  Developing stereotypes about the new culture; 

§  Developing obsessions such as over-cleanliness; 

§  Longing for family or homesickness;

§  Feeling lost, overlooked, exploited, abused, or misunderstood. 

Taft (In Gudykunst dan Kim, 2003) identified the common symptoms of culture shock, such as:

a) Cultural fatigue, manifested by insomnia, high-temperamental and other psychosomatic.

b) The feeling of loss because of separating with their familiar environment.

c) The refusal on individual toward the members of the new community.

d) The feeling of incapability to face the strange environment competently

6. Final Adjustment

In the final adjustment of cultural shock, the visitors have to receive the custom of the country as just another way of living. It’s the last choice when they still keep staying there. Sooner or later, they are going to usual face the condition at that country, like food, drink, habit, custom etc. They even enjoy themselves in living there, because by an accident they have learned the culture of that country, the way to act, the way to greet and interact with other people

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Oberg, Kalervo. 1954. “Culture Shock”. Panel discussion at the Midwest regional meeting of the Institute of International Education in Chicago, November 28, 1951. Retrieved from http://www.smcm.edu/Academics/internationaled/Pdf/cultureshockarticle.pdf

Oberg, Kalervo. Culture Shock & The Problem Of Adjustment To New Cultural Environments. Worldwide Classroom: culture_shock.html

Kim, Y.Y.1995. Cross Cultural Adaptation: An Integrated Theory. In R.L Wiseman (Eds), Intercultural Communication Theory (International and Intercultural Communication Annual 19). Newbury Park, CA: Sage

Adler, Peter. 1975. “The Transitional Experience: An Alternative View of Culture Shock.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology 15, 4:13–23.