Have you ever experienced a state of culture shock? How often have you experienced culture shock?

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you couldn't ask for directions, or didn't know how to, say, use a pay phone on the street? Or maybe difficulties arose in the process of refueling your car or when trying to purchase groceries in a store? The situation was further aggravated by the fact that it was imperative to find a way out, i. call someone urgently, fill up a car, buy food? Has it happened? So, we can say with confidence that you have already experienced that same culture shock.

Who experiences it first? As a rule, students studying abroad, tourists or businessmen who have come outside their country for the first time.

In this article, I would like to dwell on this concept in more detail, talk about the possible reasons for its occurrence, as well as how it is possible to facilitate entry into a new environment for a person.

1. Culture shock. Concept definition

Culture shock is a kind of physical or (in most cases) emotional discomfort that occurs as a result of falling into a completely different, unfamiliar cultural environment.

Is it possible to get used to such an environment? Can! However, such cultural adaptation in most cases will be exciting, stressful or, oddly enough, funny. In addition, you should be prepared for the fact that what you see may not meet expectations at all or be confusing.

By the way, sometimes this concept are used to indicate a general situation, once in which a person is simply forced to adapt to a new way of life and order, realizing that neither the previously learned nor the behavior patterns no longer work.

2. Culture shock and possible reasons its occurrence

As a rule, a person experiences this state when he arrives in a new country for himself, the traditions of which are radically different from those customs that surrounded him in his former, native and familiar place.

Although, if we take, for example, such a huge country as Russia, one can easily experience a culture shock by moving, say, to live in the capital, or, conversely, in the outback from a noisy city with a rich rhythm of life. It can simply change so much that only the most courageous and purposeful will be able to adequately cope with the situation.

The thing is that at such moments inside each person there is a struggle between new and old cultural orientations and norms. A kind of conflict at the level of their own consciousness.

Otherwise, realizing the acuteness of the impact, each person can experience culture shock in completely different ways. What does it depend on? As a rule, from several main factors, namely, from individual features, the level of similarity and degree of difference of cultures, as well as a number of additional elements, which I would include food, climate, material well-being, customs, clothing, religion, family structure, level and scope of education, language.

3. Acute culture shock. Examples and various forms

How to understand that you are experiencing a real culture shock? Is it possible to predict when this painful and painful condition will approximately end?

Modern psychologists distinguish several phases of this period, which, as a rule, is caused by moving to another country:

• "Honeymoon". At this time, a person begins to see what is happening through the so-called "rose-colored glasses". All his new environment is perceived joyfully and with enthusiasm. For example, often visiting new places for us, at first we begin to admire unusual food, breathtaking architecture, and entertaining habits of the natives.
• "Reconciliation", which usually occurs after a few days, weeks, and in some cases even months. We begin to look for our familiar circle of friends, call friends, acquaintances and relatives, prepare dishes we have loved since childhood.
• "Adaptation". At this stage, a person stops emotionally reacting to what is happening around. Life becomes as close as possible to the usual daily routine at home.
• "Reverse Culture Shock". In the event that you did not leave your homeland forever, you are likely to return, which means you should be prepared in advance for a new emotional shock.

Travel is one of better ways expand your horizons and discover the rest of the world. However, being people of the same mentality, going to a completely unfamiliar country for themselves, many are faced with discoveries that literally plunge into shock with their unexpectedness.

Each nation has its own customs, demeanor, rules of conduct, and so on. A person who does not know all this, being unprepared, encountering this, finds himself in a situation of extreme surprise. And in order to minimize such situations during your trips abroad, today we will tell you 25 of the most striking examples of culture shock that people experience while traveling around the world!

25. Respect

In most non-English speaking cultures, linguistic respect is a part of everyday life. In almost every such language, there are two forms of addressing a person - official and informal.

24. Humor


Anyone who has traveled different countries, will confirm that in each individual country there is a different sense of humor. And it is true. What will amuse people in one country, in another, is unlikely to seem funny to someone.

23. Small Talk


In some places this is a very important part of the communication. In others, such as in German-speaking countries, it is not: you just say what you need to say and move on.

22. Driving a car


In most countries in Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe (Rome, for example), no one actually follows the rules of the road.

21. Tipping


Sometimes (for example, in Japan and Korea) they should not be given. This may be taken as an insult.

20. Wealth difference


This surprises Westerners more than anyone else: you can have luxurious mansion with a bunch of guards right next to a few run down shacks.

19. Head nodding


In Bulgaria, nodding the head from top to bottom means "no", and from side to side - "yes".

18. Use of kitchen appliances


In Sweden, for example, even hamburgers are eaten with a fork and knife.

17. Welcome kisses


This can lead to an awkward situation wherever you are, especially if you don't know how many times it's taken (the difference can be significant).

16. Trust in society


In countries like Japan, it can be huge. It often happens that in night shops there is not even a seller - only a box for the money that customers leave when they leave the store.

15. Pushing


In some countries, such as China, this is considered normal. Even while boarding the elevator.

14. Personal space


Varies significantly from country to country. If you are from South America, then you can be sure that the Swede will start to back away if you approach him.

13. Conversations at the table


In some countries they are accepted, in others they are not. In Germany, for example, people eat just to eat, and you can talk later.

12. Toilets


Many countries around the world use floor standing toilets. And no toilet paper. It can be hard to get used to this.

11. Siesta


It's real. In the south of Europe, between 2pm and 4pm, people close their shops and go to bed. If you try to do this, for example, in New York, you will be fired.

10. Pay toilets


When in Europe, be prepared to fork out if you want to relieve yourself.

9. Smiling at a stranger


If you are a European, then know that this is normal for the rest of the world. And it will be strange for you.

8. Unlocked doors


If you come from a developing country to a country like Canada, for example, you may experience a shock. Especially when you find out that the people of this country leave their doors unlocked.

7. Shaking your head


This is especially true for India. It is very confusing when you can not understand what a person means - "yes" or "no".

6. Consumerism (stimulation of consumer interest)


In some countries, it comes to madness. If you have never been to the US before, then it will take you some time to fully understand the availability of pharmacies where you can shop without leaving your car.

5. Indifference, indifference


We have already mentioned smiling at strangers, now the opposite case. If you are ever in Europe (especially in the northern or eastern part of it), get ready to see people with an expression on their faces, as if they are in a constant state of apathy.

4. Absence of signs with the address


In most parts of the world, you simply describe the place where you live.

Note: this is observed even in such developed countries as the United Arab Emirates.

3. Touching noses


It is a popular form of greeting in some places, especially among the Maori in New Zealand.

2. Males holding hands


Even when it is done publicly, it is considered quite normal in many Arab countries.

1. Caution when crossing the road


In some parts of Northern Europe, people would never cross a road at a red traffic light, even if there is no car in sight.

Cases of voluntary or forced mass movements of ethno-cultural groups that leave the places of formation of an ethnos and its long-term residence and move to another geographical and cultural space are called ethno-cultural migration.

The latter not only creates a new situation in the world, but also requires the migrants to acquire a new outlook on social life and their 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 among different generations of 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 social environment, verbal and non-verbal communication. The inner world of 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 condition migrants that they experience when they encounter 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 things in a former life: 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 used in their native culture the roles 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 provided normal life at home, they 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 to the 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, there appeared a large number of studies 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 well-known scientists Adrian Furnham and Stephen Bochner in the well-known 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 proposed instead of the term "culture shock" to use the concept of "acculturation stress: 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 unusual environment begins to exert its influence. 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 critical point, which manifests itself in serious illnesses and a feeling of complete helplessness. unable to successfully adapt to new environment loser visitors “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- learning the language 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 with relatives and friends, the opportunity to communicate on mother tongue etc., but then they note with surprise that the features of their native culture are perceived by them 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 in recent years have cast doubt on 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;
• - keep in touch 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. XX century, but recently the term "acculturation stress" has become 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 an increased level of 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

In a foreign country, foreign students often encounter differences in the norms of behavior, beliefs, customs and values ​​of local residents. Although in general immersion in a foreign culture can be considered a positive process, it can sometimes cause a so-called "culture shock".

The term was first used by the anthropologist Calvero Oeberg (Kalvero Oberg). This phenomenon lies in the fact that the cultural norms that a foreigner encounters abroad are in internal conflict with the norms on which he was brought up in his own country. Scientists have noticed that the development of culture shock takes place in several stages.

This, of course, does not mean that all people endure culture shock in the same way or experience it at a fixed time. But general patterns still exist.

Immediately after arriving in another country, a foreigner experiences extremely positive emotions (the “honeymoon” stage), as they interact more deeply with a foreign culture, “pink glasses” fall off, cultural contradictions emerge (“culture shock” stage), then follows a natural internal adjustment to the new one. environment (stage of "adaptation").

In terms of the intensity and polarity of the emotions experienced, the process of adaptation resembles a ride on a rollercoaster.

Researcher Stephen Rinesmith ( Stephen Rhinesmith) identifies 10 stages of adaptation to a foreign culture:

1. Arrival in another country and primary anxiety.
2. primary euphoria.
3. Culture shock.
4. surface adaptation.
5. Depression-frustration.
6. Acceptance of a foreign culture.
7. Return home and re-anxiety.
8. Repeated euphoria.
9. Reverse culture shock.
10. Reintegration into your culture.

Experiencing culture shock, an international student follows the natural ups and downs of emotions. Spiritual uplift is replaced by a decline in mood, depression. At this moment, the degree of rise and fall of mood, the intensity and duration of emotions, depend on the individual characteristics of the person. This process helps to adapt to new circumstances.

Stages 1-5. Immersion in a foreign culture

Before leaving abroad, a foreign student experiences pleasant excitement in anticipation of new experiences. Once abroad, he gradually masters and begins to get acquainted with a foreign culture.

At first, everything is perceived through the eyes of a tourist, there is a feeling of euphoria. Then the first difficulties in interacting with the new environment begin, and the foreigner begins to compare and contrast the culture of his country with the culture of the host country, focuses his attention on what he considers to be the shortcomings of a foreign culture.

The state of euphoria is replaced by longing for familiar things and surroundings. Gradually, these internal contradictions cause a feeling of depression. Everything is aggravated by the fact that a foreign student has to experience stress every day when faced with unusual phenomena abroad, whether it is a trip by public transport, a shopping trip, a bank transaction, and so on.

Then comes the period when negative emotions and depression become apparent and develop into culture shock. The symptoms of culture shock can manifest both psychologically (feelings of depression, loss, longing) and physically (drowsiness or insomnia, feeling unwell). The most important thing is to realize that he is present and not to withdraw into himself.

Stage 6. Acceptance of a foreign culture

As they get used to it, a foreign student acquires new acquaintances and friends, begins to travel more around the country, everything around no longer seems alien and hostile. Previously annoying cultural norms now seem acceptable.

However, if difficulties arise at this stage, a return to a short state of depression is possible. As a rule, people with experience living abroad quickly adapt to a foreign culture. At this stage, adaptation can develop in the following areas:

• complete rejection of foreign culture, which is characterized by self-isolation from it. Returning home is perceived as the only possible way to solve the problem. So-called "hermits" tend to have the most difficulty reintegrating into their own culture upon return;
• full acceptance of foreign culture, which is characterized by full integration and loss of the former cultural identity. As a rule, the so-called "adherents" do not seek to return home;
• acceptance of certain aspects of a foreign culture while maintaining particles of one's own, which is expressed in the emergence of a unique mixture of two or more cultures. So-called "cosmopolitans" do not suffer much culture shock when moving to another country or when returning home from abroad.

Stage 7-10. Homecoming

Upon returning home after a long study abroad, there comes a period of re-adaptation to their own culture. The native country is no longer perceived as before leaving for study. Now the opposite is true: the cultural norms of one's country begin to be assessed more critically and seem not as "normal" as before. This process is commonly referred to as "reverse culture shock". After some time, there is a reverse adaptation to the native environment.

Ways to overcome culture shock

• Start a diary or blog.Every day, write down everything that you have to face and your reactions to what is happening. Keeping records helps to analyze the situation in general, and not get hung up on one thing. In a year it will be interesting to read how you felt at the very beginning of your studies abroad.
• Communicate.Get yourself a so-called "informant" - a comrade for whom the culture of the host country is native, but who is also interested in the culture of your country, for example, studying Russian. He will help you get used to his culture, and you will help him to get used to yours. At the same time, get a friend who comes from the same country or at least the region as you. Discussing common difficulties will make it easier for you to get through the transition. However, try not to let the joint discussions turn into whining like "I'm tired of everything in this country."
• Act like a tourist.Periodically imagine that you are a tourist: visit tourist places where locals never go. This will allow you to look at everything from the outside and at least briefly return to the "honeymoon" stage.
• Do something familiar.Cook the usual or national food more often, meet friends from your country, watch your favorite films in your native language. Sometimes you just need to feel, breathe in and see something familiar and familiar in order to get rid of homesickness.
• Please send mail.Ask your loved ones to send you something by mail. Such a trifle as a parcel from home can restore a good mood and a sense of connection with family and friends.
• Go in for sports.Physical activity will help you overcome psychological stress, distract yourself and relieve unnecessary stress.
• Don't lose your sense of humor.Try to see something useful in your experience of living in another country and maybe something funny. It is known that a sense of humor helps to overcome difficulties.

Culture shock - emotional or physical discomfort, disorientation of the individual, caused by falling into a different cultural environment, a collision with another culture, an unfamiliar place.

The term "culture shock" was introduced into scientific circulation in 1960 by the American researcher Kalervo Oberg (Eng.

Kalervo Oberg). In his opinion, culture shock is “a consequence of the anxiety that appears as a result of the loss of all familiar signs and symbols. social interaction”, in addition, when entering a new culture, a person has very unpleasant sensations.

The essence of culture shock is the conflict between old and new cultural norms and orientations, the old ones inherent in the individual as a representative of the society that he left, and the new ones, that is, representing the society in which he arrived. Strictly speaking, culture shock is a conflict between two cultures at the level of individual consciousness.

Probably one of the most famous metaphors for describing "culture shock" is the concept of an iceberg. It implies that culture consists not only of what we see and hear (language, art, literature, architecture, classical music, pop music, dancing, cuisine, National costumes etc.), but also from what lies beyond our initial perception (perception of beauty, ideals of raising children, attitude towards elders, the concept of sin, justice, approaches to solving problems and problems, group work, eye contact, body language, facial expressions, self-perception, attitude towards opposite sex, the relationship of the past and the future, time management, communication distance, voice intonation, speech speed, etc.) The essence of the concept is that culture can be represented as an iceberg, where only a small visible part of culture is above the water surface, and water is a significant invisible part that is not in sight, however, it has a great influence on our perception of culture as a whole. In a collision in an unknown, submerged part of an iceberg (culture), culture shock most often occurs.

The American researcher R. Weaver likens culture shock to the meeting of two icebergs: it is “under water”, at the level of “non-obvious”, that the main clash of values ​​and mentalities takes place. He argues that when two cultural icebergs collide, that part of cultural perception that was previously unconscious enters the conscious level, and a person begins to pay more attention to both his own and foreign culture. An individual is surprised to realize the presence of this hidden system of norms and values ​​that control behavior only when he finds himself in a situation of contact with a different culture. The result of this is psychological, and often physical discomfort - culture shock.

There are many points of view regarding the causes of culture shock. So, the researcher K. Furnem, based on the analysis literary sources, identifies eight approaches to the nature and features of this phenomenon, commenting and showing in some cases even their failure:

1) the emergence of culture shock is associated with geographical displacement, causing a reaction reminiscent of mourning (expression of grief over) lost ties. However, culture shock is not always associated with grief, so in each individual case it is impossible to predict the severity of the loss and, accordingly, the depth of this grief;

2) the blame for experiencing culture shock is attributed to fatalism, pessimism, helplessness and the external locus of control of a person who has fallen into a foreign culture. But this does not explain the differences in the degree of distress and contradicts the assumption that the majority of "travelers" (migrants) subjectively have an internal locus of control;

3) culture shock is a process of natural selection or survival of the fittest, the best. But this explanation oversimplifies the variables involved, since most studies of culture shock are not predictive but retrospective;

4) the culture shock is blamed on the visitor's expectations, which are inappropriate in the new environment. However, there is no proven link between unmet expectations and poor adjustment;

5) the cause of culture shock is negative events and disruption of the daily routine in general. However, it is very difficult to measure the events and establish causality: on the one hand, the victims themselves are the perpetrators of negative events, and on the other hand, negative events make these people suffer;

6) culture shock is caused by a divergence of values ​​due to a lack of mutual understanding and the conflicts that accompany this process. But some values ​​are more adaptive than others, so value conflict alone cannot be a sufficient explanation;

7) culture shock is associated with a lack of social skills, as a result of which socially inadequate or inexperienced people experience a more difficult period of adjustment. However, the role of personality and socialization is downplayed here, and there is a hidden ethnocentrism in this understanding of adaptation;

8) the blame is placed on the lack of social support, and this approach draws arguments from attachment theory, social network theory and psychotherapy. However, it is difficult enough to quantify social support or develop a social support mechanism or procedure to test and justify such a conclusion.

Basically, a person receives a culture shock when he finds himself in another country that is different from the country where he lives, although he may also encounter similar sensations in his own country with a sudden change in the social environment.

A person has a conflict of old and new cultural norms and orientations - old ones to which he is accustomed, and new ones that characterize a new society for him. This is a conflict of two cultures at the level of one's own consciousness. Culture shock occurs when familiar psychological factors that helped a person to adapt to society disappear, and instead unknown and incomprehensible ones come from a different cultural environment.

This experience of a new culture is unpleasant. Within the framework of one's own culture, a persistent illusion of one's own vision of the world, way of life, mentality, etc. is created as the only possible and, most importantly, the only permissible one. The overwhelming majority of people do not realize themselves as a product of a separate culture, even in those rare cases when they understand that the behavior of representatives of other cultures is actually determined by their culture. Only by going beyond the limits of one’s culture, that is, by meeting with a different worldview, attitude, etc., one can understand the specifics of one’s own public consciousness, see the difference of cultures.

The strength of the manifestation of culture shock and the duration of intercultural adaptation depend on a number of factors that can be divided into two groups: internal (individual) and external (group).

According to researchers, human age is a basic and critical element of adaptation to another culture. With age, a person is more difficult to integrate into a new cultural system, experiences cultural shock more strongly and for a longer time, and more slowly perceives the values ​​and patterns of behavior of a new culture.

Also important in the process of adaptation is the level of education of a person: the higher it is, the more successfully adaptation takes place. This is due to the fact that education expands the inner potential of a person, complicates his perception environment, which means it makes it more tolerant of changes and innovations.

You can talk about universal list desirable characteristics of a person who is preparing for life in another culture. Such characteristics include professional competence, high self-esteem, sociability, extroversion, openness to different opinions and points of view, interest in the environment and people, the ability to cooperate, internal self-control, courage and perseverance.

The group of internal factors that determine the complexity of adaptation and the duration of culture shock, among other things, includes a person's life experience, his motivation to move, the experience of staying in another culture; having friends among the locals.

The group of external factors includes cultural distance, which refers to the degree of differences between "one's own" and "foreign" culture. It must be understood that adaptation is not influenced by cultural distance itself, but by a person’s idea of ​​it, which depends on many factors: the presence or absence of wars, conflicts in the present and in the past, knowledge of a foreign language and culture, etc.

It is also worth noting a number of external factors that indirectly determine the adaptation process: the conditions of the host country, the goodwill of local residents to visitors, the willingness to help them, the desire to communicate with them; economic and political stability in the host country; crime level; the possibility and accessibility of communication with representatives of other cultures .

According to T.G. Stefanenko, there are the following stages of culture shock: "honeymoon", "actual culture shock", "reconciliation", "adaptation".

1. "Honeymoon". This stage is characterized by enthusiasm, high spirits, high hopes. During this period, the differences between the "old" and "new" cultures are perceived positively, with great interest.

2. Actually "culture shock". In the second stage, the unfamiliar environment begins to have a negative impact. After some time, a person becomes aware of the problems with communication (even if the knowledge of the language is good), at work, at school, in the store, at home. All of a sudden, all the differences become even more noticeable to him. A person realizes that with these differences he will have to live not for a few days, but for months or perhaps years. The crisis stage of culture shock begins.

3. "Reconciliation". This stage is characterized by the fact that depression is slowly replaced by optimism, a sense of confidence and satisfaction. A person feels more adapted and integrated into the life of society.

4. "Adaptation". At this stage, the person no longer reacts negatively or positively because he is adjusting to new culture. He leads again everyday life, as before in their homeland. A person begins to understand and appreciate local traditions and customs, even adopts some behaviors and feels more relaxed and free in the process of interacting with local residents.

According to the American anthropologist F. Bock, there are four ways to resolve the conflict that occurs during culture shock.

The first way can be called ghettoization (from the word ghetto). It is carried out in situations where a person finds himself in another society, but tries or is forced (due to ignorance of the language, religion, or for some other reason) to avoid any contact with a foreign culture. In this case, he tries to create his own cultural environment - an environment of compatriots, fencing off this environment from the influence of a foreign cultural environment.

The second way to resolve the conflict of cultures is assimilation. In the case of assimilation, the individual, on the contrary, completely abandons his own culture and strives to fully assimilate the cultural norms of another culture necessary for life. Of course, this is not always possible. The reason for failure may be either the lack of an individual's ability to adapt to a new culture, or the resistance of the cultural environment of which he intends to become a member.

The third way to resolve a cultural conflict is intermediate, consisting in cultural exchange and interaction. In order for the exchange to benefit and enrich both parties, openness is needed on both sides, which, unfortunately, is extremely rare in life, especially if the parties are initially unequal. In fact, the results of such an interaction are not always obvious at the very beginning. They become visible and weighty only after a considerable time has passed.

The fourth way is partial assimilation, when an individual partially sacrifices his culture in favor of a foreign cultural environment, that is, in one of the spheres of life: for example, at work he is guided by the norms and requirements of another culture, but in a family, in religious life- its own rules traditional culture.

The consequences of culture shock can be not only negative. According to modern researchers, culture shock is a completely normal reaction, and even integral part process of adaptation to new conditions. In addition, in this case, a person not only receives information about a new culture and its norms and values, but also increases his level of cultural development, although he experiences stress at the same time. So since the early 1990s. 20th century many scientists prefer to use the phrase "acculturation stress".

Culture shock in the development of a foreign culture

When contacting a foreign culture, one gets acquainted with new artistic creations, social and material values, the actions of people that depend on the picture of the world, value ideas, norms and conventions, forms of thinking inherent in a foreign culture. Such meetings tend to enrich people, but often contact with another culture leads to problems and conflicts due to a misunderstanding of this culture.

The concept of "culture shock" and its symptoms

Experts called the stressful impact of a new culture on a person culture shock; sometimes used similar concepts"transition shock", "cultural fatigue". Almost all immigrants experience it to one degree or another. It causes a mental health disorder, a more or less pronounced mental shock.

The term "culture shock" was introduced into scientific circulation by the American researcher Kalsrvo Oberg in 1954. He noted that when entering a new culture, a person experiences a number of unpleasant sensations. Today it is considered that the experience of a new culture is unpleasant or shocking because it is unexpected and because it can lead to a negative assessment of one's own culture.

The most common manifestations of culture shock are:

• tension due to the efforts made to achieve psychological adaptation;
• feeling of loss due to deprivation of friends, position, profession, property;
• feeling of loneliness (rejection) in the new culture, which
• can be transformed into a denial of this culture; o violation of role expectations and 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 developed many symbols and images, 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 system of orientation becomes inadequate, since it is based on other ideas about the world, other norms and values, stereotypes of behavior and perception. It is the disappointment in the adequacy of one's own culture, the realization of its non-universality that becomes the cause of shock, since in the conditions of one's own culture a person does not realize that it has this hidden, invisible part of culture.

The state of culture shock is most directly related to the process of communication. Each person takes his ability to communicate for granted and does not realize what role this ability plays in his life until he finds himself in a situation of misunderstanding. Unsuccessful communication, as a rule, causes him heartache and frustration. However, in this state, the person realizes that the source of frustration is his own inability to communicate adequately. It is not only and not so much about ignorance of the language, but about the ability to decipher the cultural information of a different cultural environment, about psychological compatibility with carriers of a different culture, 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. In practice, it is often expressed in excessive concern for the cleanliness of dishes, linen, the quality of water and food, in psychosomatic disorders, general anxiety, insomnia, and fear. One or another kind of culture shock can develop from several months to several years, depending on the individual characteristics of the individual.

Modern researchers consider culture shock as part of the process of adaptation to new conditions. Moreover, in this process, a person not only acquires knowledge about a new culture and the norms of behavior in it, but becomes more culturally developed, although he experiences stress. Therefore, since the early 1990s. experts prefer to talk not about culture shock, but about the stress of acculturation.

The mechanism of development of culture shock was first described in detail by Oberg, who argued that people go through certain stages of experiencing culture shock and gradually reach a satisfactory level of adaptation. Today, to describe them, an adaptation curve (U-shaped curve) is proposed, in which five stages of adaptation are distinguished.

• The first stage is called the "honeymoon": as a rule, migrants, once abroad, are full of enthusiasm and hope. In addition, they are often prepared for their arrival, they are expected, and at first they receive help, they may have some benefits. But this period passes quickly.
• In the second stage, the unfamiliar environment and culture begin to have a 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. 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 return to their homeland. But most find the strength to overcome cultural differences, learn the language, get acquainted with the local culture, acquire local friends, from whom they receive 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, considering adaptation and integration into the life of the new society to be very successful.
• At the fifth stage, complete adaptation to the new culture is achieved. Since that time, the individual and the environment are mutually consistent with each other. Depending on the intensity of these factors, the adaptation process can last from several months to 4-5 years.

The resulting U-shaped curve for the development of culture shock is characterized by the following steps: good, worse, bad, better, good.

When a person who has successfully adapted to a foreign culture returns to his homeland, he is faced with the need to reverse adaptation (re-adaptation) to his own culture. It is believed that in this case he experiences a "return shock", described by a W-shaped readaptation curve. It repeats the U-shaped curve: at first, a person rejoices at the return, meeting with friends, then he notices that some features of his native culture seem strange and unusual to him, but gradually he again adapts to life at home.

Factors influencing culture shock can be divided into two groups - internal (individual) and external (group).

In the group of internal (individual) factors, the most important are individual characteristics person - age, gender, educated and, character traits, life experience.

Age is a critical element in adapting to a different community: how older man, the more difficult it is for him to adapt to a new cultural system, the more difficult and longer he experiences cultural shock, the slower he perceives the models of a new culture. So, small children adapt quickly and successfully, but schoolchildren already experience great difficulties, and older people are practically incapable of adaptation and acculturation.

Floor. Women were previously thought to be more difficult to adjust to new environments than men. But this applies to women from traditional societies, whose destiny in a new place is housework and limited communication with new people. Women from developed countries have the same ability to acculturate as men, and American women are better than men at adapting to new circumstances. Therefore, recently researchers believe that the factor of education is more important for adaptation: the higher it is, the more successful the adaptation. Education, even without taking into account the cultural content, expands the inner possibilities of a person. How harder picture world in a person, the easier and faster he perceives innovations.

In this regard, experts have identified a universal set personal characteristics which a person who is preparing for life in a foreign country with a foreign culture should have. This - professional competence, high self-esteem, sociability, extroversion, openness to different views, interest in others, 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 named personality traits, i.e. cultural distance is too great, adaptation will be very difficult.

The circumstances of a person's life experience also refer to the internal factors of adaptation and overcoming culture shock. The most important thing here is the motives for adaptation. 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. Strong motivation for expats who seek to move to permanent place residence in another country and want to quickly become full members of the new culture, as well as students studying abroad. The situation is much worse for internally displaced persons and refugees who did not want to leave their homeland and do not want to get used to new living conditions.

Faster adaptation is facilitated by the experience of staying in a foreign cultural environment, the presence of friends among local residents who help to quickly acquire the information necessary for life, provide support (social, emotional, sometimes even financial), contacts with former compatriots living in this country. But here there is a danger of becoming isolated in a narrow circle of communication, which will increase alienation. Therefore, many services associated with emigrants try to limit their residence in homogeneous national groups, believing that this hinders rapid adaptation and may even cause ethnic prejudice.

TO external factors factors affecting adaptation and culture shock include cultural distance, cultural characteristics, conditions of the host country.

Cultural distance - the degree of differences between the native culture and the one to which a person adapts. At the same time, it is not even the cultural distance itself that influences adaptation, but the person's idea of ​​it. his sense of cultural distance, which depends on many factors - the presence or absence of wars or conflicts both in the present and in the past, knowledge of a foreign language and culture, etc. Subjectively, cultural distance can be perceived as more distant or closer than it actually is; in both cases, the culture shock will last, and adaptation will be difficult.

Characteristics of the culture to which migrants belong. So, representatives of cultures in which the concept of “face” is very important and where they are afraid to lose it adapt worse; such people are very sensitive to the inevitable mistakes and ignorance 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, in particular, the goodwill of local residents to visitors, the willingness to help them, to communicate with them. In a pluralistic society, it is much easier to adapt, and also in societies where the policy of cultural pluralism is proclaimed at the state level, as, for example, in Canada or Sweden, than in a totalitarian or orthodox one.

It is impossible not to name such factors as economic and political stability in the host country, the level of crime, on which the safety of migrants depends, the opportunity to communicate with representatives of another culture (which is real if there are joint activities - general work, hobbies, etc.), the position of the media, which create a common emotional mood and public opinion regarding other ethnic and cultural groups.

Culture shock is a complex and painful condition for a person, but it testifies to personal growth, the breaking of existing stereotypes, which requires huge expenditures of physical and psychological resources person. As a result, a new picture world, based on the acceptance and understanding of cultural diversity, the We-They dichotomy is removed, resistance to new trials appears, tolerance for the new and unusual. The main outcome is the ability to live in an ever-changing world in which borders between countries are less and less important and direct contacts between people become more and more important.

What is the peculiarity of culture shock and the reasons for its development

Culture shock is an individual manifestation of a person's disorientation when he can recognize a previously unfamiliar way of life. Often culture shock is observed when immigrating or visiting another country, changing the social environment or banal immersion in a different type of life. The most common cause of culture shock is exposure to a foreign environment.

Due to its relatively standard manifestations, culture shock can be divided into at least four distinct phases - euphoria, frustration, adaptation, and reconciliation.

Common negative conditions that contribute to the development of culture shock include:

• information overload;
• the language barrier;
• generation gap;
• technological gap;
• interdependence on the external environment;
• increased dependence on new conditions;
• cultural homesickness;
• an endless regression of homesickness;
• boredom
• responsiveness is a cultural skill set.

It is worth noting that there is no surefire way to completely prevent culture shock, since people in any society deal with cultural contrast quite individually.

Instead of a preface

Culture shock is a subcategory of a more generic diagnosis called transient shock. Transient shock as a state of loss and disorientation is based on changes in one's habitual environment, which necessarily requires adjustment. There are many symptoms of transient shock, including:

• excessive anxiety;
• feeling of helplessness;
• irritability;
• anger;
• mood swings;
• glass look;
• desire to return home and see old friends;
• physiological reactions to stress;
• homesickness;
• cookie;
• ridiculous conclusions;
• stuck on the same thoughts and actions;
• suicidal or fatalistic thoughts;
• excessive sleep;
• increased appetite and, as a result, weight gain;
• stereotypes "master-slave", "friends-arrivals" and so on;
• hostility towards the citizens of the host country.

Phases of culture shock

Euphoric phase

During this period, the differences between familiar and new culture are viewed in a romantic light. For example, when visiting a previously unexplored country, a person may fall in love with new food, the pace of life and the habits of the locals. During the first few weeks, most people are fascinated by the new culture. Particularly active interest is shown in citizens who speak their native language and those who are especially polite with foreigners. Similar attitude to the environment, sometimes called a honeymoon - a person's experiences are very similar to the emotions that newlyweds feel during this period. However, like most honeymoons, this stage eventually ends.

Disappointment

After a while, usually about three months, depending on the individual, the differences between the familiar and the new culture become quite obvious and begin to cause anxiety. Such agitation can often lead to unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger, especially in cases where a person experiences adverse events that can be perceived, oddly enough, as offensive to one's cultural attitude. Language barriers, differences in public hygiene, traffic safety, food availability, and food quality can add to the feeling of detachment from the local environment.

Another environment puts particular pressure on communication skills. Practical difficulties begin to arise to overcome such circadian rhythms, which often lead to insomnia and daytime sleepiness, adaptation of the intestinal flora. It is worth noting that one of the most common reasons psychologists note is the difficulty in finding a cure for a disease - drugs can have other names that are very different from those accepted in home country so they are difficult to recognize. In addition, specialists may use slightly different principles to provide assistance than those to which the individual is accustomed. Sometimes it can be quite a difficult task to clearly explain your condition.

The most important changes during this period include the following. People, adapting to a new culture, often feel lonely and homesick, because they have not yet got used to the new environment and have not had time to meet people who are able to understand them and deliver any positive emotions, including support. There is no opportunity to discuss your thoughts, problems with anyone, there are no tips to help make a decision. The language barrier can become a serious obstacle in creating new relationships - there is a misunderstanding of the culture of a foreign language, non-verbal manifestations, language faux pas, tone of conversations, linguistic nuances and customs. Often there are people around who are essentially false friends.

In the case of students studying abroad, some of them may experience additional symptoms of loneliness, which ultimately affects their lifestyle in general. Due to the forced need to live in another country without parental care, international students often feel anxiety and pressure to adapt to new cultures, especially when cultural and geographical distances are significant, and logic and speech patterns are too different and highly specialized.

Adaptation

After some time, usually 6 to 12 months, the first habits to the new culture begin to emerge and procedures for contact with it develop. The volume of such addictions is increasing literally every day. A person becomes preoccupied with the basic life of the surrounding society, things become more "normal", but most importantly - he begins to draw conclusions. There are skills to solve their own problems on their own, without the participation of outsiders. Gradually, a positive attitude towards the surrounding reality is formed. Foreign culture begins to make sense, and negative reactions and the answers degrade in quality.

Reconciliation

At this stage, a person is able to participate fully and comfortably, almost fully, in the environment of the host culture. Reconciliation does not mean complete transformation - people often retain many features of the former culture, such as accent and language skills. This phase is often referred to as the bicultural stage.

Reverse culture shock

Reverse culture shock, "own culture shock", can develop in case of returning to one's country and one's native culture. After spending a long time in a foreign culture, returning to one's homeland or place of a previous long stay can produce the same effects as described above. This is the result of the psychosomatic and psychological consequences of the sanitation process in the primary culture. A person subsequently often finds new conditions of life more surprising, so it is difficult for him to return to those conditions in which he lived before.

Reverse culture shock usually consists of two stages: idealization and expectations. When a long period of time spent abroad orients a person towards positive emotions, it can be quite difficult to return to gray everyday life his past life. Oddly enough, but in this case it will be very easy for a person to remember everything from his “native” life, but he, as a rule, quickly forgets the negative from the life from which he has just returned.

A person expects that native things remain exactly the same as when they left them. The realization that domestic life now it has changed that the world continues to live without our participation causes discomfort and psychological suffering.

General conclusions

Some people believe that it is impossible to accept a foreign culture and integrate into it. They isolate themselves from the environment of the host country, which they have to perceive as hostile, akin to a "ghetto". In addition, there is an irresistible desire to return to their own culture and this is seen as the only way out. These “refuseniks” also have big problems of reintegration at home after their return.

Other individuals, on the contrary, are characterized by a process of complete integration into a new culture and deep immersion in all its aspects and smallest details. Such people often lose their original identity and very often their character, behavior and even appearance change. This is called cultural assimilation. In this case, the guests of the country, as a rule, stay here forever.

Some people manage to objectively adapt to aspects of the culture of the host country - they see both its positive qualities and negative ones, while maintaining their own basic features and creating unique combinations with new conditions on their basis. Such individuals do not have serious problems, may or may not return to their homeland, and may move frequently to other places. This group may be considered to be somewhat cosmopolitan. Approximately 30% of expats belong to this group.

Culture shock has many different effects, time intervals and degrees of severity, therefore, in the case of therapy, an individual approach must necessarily be provided.

/ Inquiries / 52.Culture shock

Culture shock: causes, course, psychological help. buffer group.

Culture shock is a psychological reaction to an encounter with another culture.

Phases of culture shock (according to Oberg): honeymoon - crisis - recovery - adaptation.

Causes of k.sh. - 1) experience of loss (loss); 2) frustration due to value differences; 3) lack of social support; 4) lack of social skills; 5) unfulfilled expectations

Buffer group - a real or conditional group of migrants, territorially concentrated or dispersed in a certain space. The buffer group is personally significant for an individual migrant, since it is a mediating link in the process of a potential migrant leaving his original society, entering a new society, returning to the old society (maybe even after several generations), preserving individual, most personally and collectively significant spiritual values ​​and attributes inherent in the abandoned society. The duration of functioning and activity of these types of groups in time is different. As a "custodian of values", the Buffer Group can exist actively for several generations of active migrants. Its disintegration is facilitated by the cessation of the influx of newcomers and the final integration and assimilation in the new society of the last custodians of values. In such cases, the values ​​of the former society cease to be personally significant for the migrant and lose their unifying functions. Nevertheless, their traces can appear in a hidden, vague form, since, having infiltrated the structure of newly acquired values, they can give special, personally significant orientations to the behavior of future generations of former migrants, which will distinguish them from other members of society.

Culture shock - Disorientation of the individual when entering a foreign cultural environment. The essence of culture shock is the conflict between old and new cultural norms and orientations, the old ones inherent in the individual as a representative of the society that he left, and the new ones, that is, representing the society in which he arrived. Strictly speaking, culture shock is a conflict between two cultures at the level of individual consciousness.

The term was introduced by K. Oberg in 1960. The process of intercultural adaptation is accompanied by: 1) a feeling of loss of friends and status due to isolation from the familiar environment; 2) a feeling of rejection; 3) surprise and discomfort when realizing the differences between cultures; 4) confusion in role expectations, value orientations and in one's own personal identity; 5) feelings of powerlessness due to the inability to effectively interact with their new environment. Symptoms of culture shock can be a lack of self-confidence, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, psychosomatic disorders, depression, etc.

Causes of culture shock:

experience of loss (grief, loss). Any loss is a trauma. (symptoms - physiological state - excitability; flash back effects - obsessive memories; obsessive avoidance).

rejection of values, a state of frustration. (affects fixation at the “crisis” stage)

lack of social support (the presence of people who will support me, listen to me).

lack of social skills

unrealistic expectations - people tend to hope for the best. Rid a person of illusions, lead to real perception.

The course of culture shock:

Oberg curve (parabola): 1) honeymoon (euphoria - something new) 2) crisis 3) recovery 4) integration

This curve is not always confirmed in practice, it only shows what must be done in order to achieve integration. There is an illusion of integration if the "honeymoon" immediately turned into integration.

Peter Adler tried to describe the process and establish the sequence of stages in the experience of K.-sh. His model includes five stages: (a) the initial contact, or "honeymoon" stage, when the newcomer experiences the curiosity and excitement of the "tourist", but at the same time his basic identity is still rooted in his native soil; b) the second stage is associated with the disintegration of the old system of familiar landmarks, with a swarm of people. feels confused and overwhelmed by the demands of the new culture; typical is a feeling of self-accusation and own insolvency in the face of the difficulties that have arisen; c) the third stage involves the reintegration of new landmarks and increased ability to function in a new culture. typical emotions associated with this stage is anger and resentment towards the new culture as the cause of difficulties and a place less suitable for life than the former environment. Since at this stage anger is directed outward, it is very difficult for such persons to render c.-l. help; d) at the fourth stage, the process of reintegration continues in the direction of acquiring autonomy and increasing the ability to see positive and negative elements in both the new and the old culture;) the fifth stage is characterized by independence: people. has finally achieved “biculturality” and is now able to function in both the old and the new culture.

According to Bock, there are five ways to resolve the conflict of two cultures at the level of individual consciousness:

1) ghettoization - is implemented in situations where a person arrives in another society, but tries or is forced (due to ignorance of the language, natural timidity, religion, etc.) to avoid any contact with a foreign culture. In this case, he tries to create his own cultural environment - the environment of fellow tribesmen, fencing off this environment from the influence of a foreign cultural environment.

2) assimilation, essentially the opposite of ghettoization. In the case of assimilation, the individual, on the contrary, completely renounces his own culture and strives to fully assimilate the cultural baggage of a foreign culture, necessary for life.

3) intermediate, consisting in cultural exchange and interaction.

4) partial assimilation, when an individual sacrifices his culture in favor of a foreign cultural environment partially, that is, in one of the spheres of life: for example, at work he is guided by the norms and requirements of a foreign cultural environment, and in the family, at leisure, in the religious sphere - by norms their traditional culture.

5) colonization, representatives of a foreign culture, having arrived in the country, actively impose their own values, norms and patterns of behavior on the population.

Buffer group - a real or conditional group of migrants, territorially concentrated or dispersed in a certain space. The buffer group is personally significant for an individual migrant, since it is a mediating link in the process of a potential migrant leaving his original society, entering a new society, returning to the old society (maybe even after several generations), preserving individual, most personally and collectively significant spiritual values ​​and attributes inherent in the abandoned society. As a "custodian of values", the buffer group can actively exist for several generations of active migrants. Its disintegration is facilitated by the cessation of the influx of newcomers and the final integration and assimilation in the new society of the last custodians of values. In such cases, the values ​​of the former society cease to be personally significant for the migrant and lose their unifying functions. Nevertheless, their traces can appear in a hidden, vague form, they can give special, personally significant orientations to the behavior of future generations of former migrants, which will distinguish them from other members of society.

Culture shock

Culture shock - emotional or physical discomfort, disorientation of the individual, caused by falling into a different cultural environment, a collision with another culture, an unfamiliar place. Getting used to a new environment can be exhilarating, stressful, disappointing, fun, or just plain confusing. The term was first used by the American anthropologist Kalervo Oberg. Kalervo Oberg) in 1954.

Sometimes the concept of "culture shock" is used to refer to a general situation when a person is forced to adapt to a new order in which previously learned cultural values ​​​​and behaviors do not work.

Possible reasons

Basically, a person receives a culture shock when he finds himself in another country that is different from the country where he lives, although he may also encounter similar sensations in his own country with a sudden change in the social environment.

A person has a conflict of old and new cultural norms and orientations; old, to which he is accustomed, and new, characterizing a new society for him. This is a conflict of two cultures at the level of one's own consciousness. Culture shock occurs when familiar psychological factors that helped a person to adapt to society disappear, and instead unknown and incomprehensible ones come from a different cultural environment.

This experience of a new culture is unpleasant.

People experience culture shock in different ways, they are unequally aware of the acuteness of its impact. It depends on their individual characteristics, the degree of similarity or dissimilarity of cultures. This can be attributed to a number of factors, including climate, clothing, food, language, religion, level of education, material wealth, family structure, customs, etc.

Different phases of culture shock

Acute culture shock (mostly caused by moving to another country) usually consists of several phases. However, it must be recognized that not everyone goes through these phases, just as not everyone spends enough time in a foreign environment to go through certain phases.

• "Honeymoon". During such a period, the differences between the "old" and "new" cultures are perceived by a person "through rose-colored glasses" - everything seems wonderful and beautiful. For example, in such a state, a person can be carried away by new food for him, a new place of residence, new habits of people, new architecture, etc.
• "Reconciliation". After a few days, weeks or months, a person stops focusing on minor differences between cultures. However, he again strives for the food he was used to at home, the rhythm of life in a new place of residence may seem too fast or too slow, people's habits can be annoying, etc.
• "Adaptation". Again, after a few days, weeks or months, a person gets used to a new environment for him. At this stage, the person no longer reacts negatively or positively because they are adapting to the new culture. He again leads a daily life, as before in his homeland.
• "Reverse Culture Shock". Returning to one's native culture after adapting to a new one can again cause the above-described phases in a person, which may not last very long or as long as the first culture shock in a foreign land.

Culture shock

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

RUSSIAN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF TOURISM

6th year student

Naberezhnye Chelny

Introduction

The behavior of animals, insects, birds is programmed by a system of instincts: they are given by nature an installation, how and what to eat, how to survive, how to make nests, when and where to fly, etc. In man, the system of instincts has died out, although researchers argue about which grade. The function that instincts perform in nature, in human society performs culture. It gives each individual sample program his life, while defining a set of options.

A lot of people live with the illusion that they themselves have chosen the goal of their life, their behavior patterns. Meanwhile, when comparing the lives of people in different cultures, it is difficult not to be struck by the uniformity of “free” choice in one country and era, while the same need in another culture is satisfied in completely different forms. The reason is that culture is the environment that determines our behavioral choices. Just as the set of behavioral options for the same people in water differs from the options for their movement on land, in a swamp, etc., so culture dictates our “free” choice. Every culture is a micro universe. Culture is very important for the functioning of the individual. Culture strengthens solidarity between people and promotes mutual understanding.

We are dependent on our habits and living conditions. Our well-being certainly depends on where we are, who and what surrounds us. When a person finds himself in an unfamiliar environment and is cut off from his usual environment (whether it is a change of apartment, job or city), his psyche usually suffers shocks. It is clear that when it comes to moving to another country, we get it all together. Experiences and sensations that a person experiences when changing the usual living conditions to new ones, scientists call culture shock ...

The choice of the topic is conditioned, first of all, by my personal desire to try to understand, both independently and with the help of competent authors, the conflict of several cultures when representatives of one culture collide with representatives of another, when a person leaves his usual environment, changes his way of life, makes new friends.

This topic is especially relevant today, when everything more people travels abroad (to live, study, work, rest). Some are interested in beaches, others in mountains where you can breathe fresh air and ski, others are interested in historical and cultural monuments. There is also VIP-tourism for the business elite, combining leisure with business events, extreme tourism for thrill-seekers, honeymoon tourism for newlyweds and much more.

This paper attempts to characterize the phenomenon of culture shock and explain its causes. In this connection, we will consider the influence of culture on social groups and their relationships, especially the mentality.

To write this work, a number of sources on cultural studies, sociology and tourism, as well as information from the Internet, were used.

Chapter 1

1.1. The concept of culture

In order to define “culture shock”, let us first find out the meaning of the word “culture” itself. So, the word "culture" (from Latin colere) means "processing", "agriculture". In other words, it is cultivation, humanization, changing nature as a habitat. The concept itself contains the opposition between the natural course of development of natural processes and phenomena and the "second nature" artificially created by man - culture. Culture is thus special shape human life, qualitatively new in relation to the previous forms of organization of life on earth.

In the middle of the last century, this word began to denote a progressive method of cultivating grain, so the term agriculture or the art of farming arose. But in the 18th and 19th centuries it began to be used in relation to people, therefore, if a person was distinguished by the elegance of manners and erudition, he was considered "cultured". Then this term was applied mainly to aristocrats to separate them from the "uncivilized" common people. The German word Kultur also meant high level civilization. In our life today, the word "culture" is still associated with the opera house, excellent literature, good education.

Contemporary scientific definition culture discarded the aristocratic shades of this concept. It symbolizes beliefs, values ​​and means of expression(used in literature and art) that are common to a group; they serve to streamline the experience and regulate the behavior of the members of that group. The beliefs and attitudes of a subgroup are often referred to as a subculture.

In history and modern era in the world there has existed and exists a huge variety of types of cultures as local - historical forms of human communities. Each culture with its spatial and temporal parameters is closely connected with its creator - the people (ethnos, ethno-confessional community). Culture expresses the specifics of the way of life, the behavior of individual peoples, their special way of perceiving the world in myths, legends, the system of religious beliefs and value orientations giving meaning to human existence. Culture, therefore, is a special form of people's life activity, which makes it possible to manifest a variety of lifestyles, material ways transformation of nature and creation of spiritual values.

The assimilation of culture is carried out with the help of learning. Culture is created, culture is taught. Since it is not acquired biologically, each generation reproduces it and passes it on to the next generation. This process is the basis of socialization. As a result of the assimilation of values, beliefs, norms, rules and ideals, the formation of a person's personality and the regulation of his behavior take place. If the process of socialization were to stop on a mass scale, it would lead to the death of culture.

How important culture is for the functioning of the individual and society can be judged by the behavior of people who are not covered by socialization.

The uncontrolled, or infantile, behavior of the so-called children of the jungle, who were completely deprived of human contact, indicates that without socialization, people are not able to adopt an orderly way of life, master the language and learn how to earn a livelihood.

Cultural values ​​are formed on the basis of the selection of certain types of behavior and experiences of people. Each society has carried out its own selection of cultural forms. Each society, from the point of view of the other, neglects the main thing and engages in unimportant matters. In one culture material values hardly recognized, in another they have a decisive influence on people's behavior. In one society, technology is treated with incredible disdain, even in areas essential to human survival; in another similar society, constantly improving technology meets the requirements of the time. But each society creates a huge cultural superstructure that covers the whole life of a person - both youth, and death, and the memory of him after death.

1.2 Ethnocentrism trend

Man is so arranged that his ideas about the world seem to him the only true ones; moreover, they seem to him natural, logical and self-evident.

There is a tendency in society to judge other cultures in terms of the superiority of one's own. This trend is called ethnocentrism. The principles of ethnocentrism find clear expression in the activities of missionaries who seek to convert "barbarians" to their faith. Ethnocentrism is associated with xenophobia - fear and hostility to other people's views and customs.

Ethnocentrism marked the activity of the first anthropologists. They were inclined to compare all cultures with their own, which they considered the most advanced. According to the American sociologist William Graham Sumner, a culture can only be understood on the basis of an analysis of its own values, in its own context. This view is called cultural relativism.

Cultural relativism promotes the understanding of subtle differences between closely related cultures. For example, in Germany, the doors in an institution are always tightly closed in order to separate people. The Germans believe that otherwise employees are distracted from work. By contrast, in the United States, office doors are usually open. Americans who work in Germany often complained that closed doors made them feel unwelcoming and alienated. A closed door for an American has a completely different meaning than for a German.

Each culture is a unique universe, created by a certain attitude of a person to the world and to himself. In other words, when we study different cultures, we study not just books, cathedrals, or archaeological finds- we discover other human worlds in which people lived (and live) and felt differently than we do. Each culture is a way of creative self-realization of a person. Therefore, the comprehension of other cultures enriches us not only with new knowledge, but also with new creative experience.