3.2: Reading: Culture Shock

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Pre-Reading Activities

Discuss or write about these questions with your instructor and classmates.

How did you feel on the first day you arrived in the U.S.? Did your feelings change over time?
What are some differences you noticed right away between behavior in your country and behavior in the U.S.?

Vocabulary Preview

Identify which of the following words and phrases you know. Be ready to explain the words to your classmates.

Taboo
Cultural
Norm
Custom
Signal
Gesture
Culture
Shock
Adjust

Sociology in the Real World: Overcoming Culture Shock

During her summer vacation, Caitlin flew from Chicago, Illinois to Madrid, Spain to visit Maria, the friend she met last semester. In the airport, she heard rapid, musical Spanish all around her. It was exciting, but she felt alone and uncomfortable. Maria’s mother kissed Caitlin on both cheeks when she greeted her, and Caitlin was surprised. Caitlin was almost asleep by dinner time -- at 10 p.m.! Maria’s family sat at the table for hours. They spoke loudly and they argued about politics, a taboo dinner topic in Caitlin’s house. They served wine and toasted their honored guest. Caitlin didn’t
understand her hosts’ facial expressions, and didn’t know that she should make the next toast. That night, Caitlin crawled into a strange bed, and she wanted to go home. She felt overwhelmed by the new customs, language, and surroundings.

What Caitlin didn’t know was that people use not only spoken words but also subtle cues like gestures and facial expressions, to communicate. Cultural norms accompany even the smallest nonverbal signals (DuBois 1951). They help people know when to shake hands, where to sit, how to
converse, and even when to laugh. We relate to others through shared cultural norms, and ordinarily, we don’t even notice them. For this reason, culture shock often happens when traveling to a new country, although it can happen in one’s own country, state, or even hometown. Anthropologist Kalervo Oberg (1960) first coined the term “culture shock.” In his studies, Oberg found that most people who visited a new country felt excited at first, but over time, they became stressed by interacting with people from a different culture who spoke another language. There was new food, new daily schedules, and new rules of etiquette. Living with this constant stress can make people feel incompetent and nervous. After two weeks in Spain, Caitlin understood that adjusting to a new culture takes time. It can take weeks or months to recover from culture shock, and it can take years to fully adjust to living in a new culture. During her trip, she made new lifelong friends. She learned a lot about Spain, but she also discovered a lot about herself and her own culture.

Glossary

Taboo (n)- something that is not acceptable to talk about or do
Toast (v)- to compliment someone, and then take a drink
Facial expressions (n. phrase)- the way feelings show on someone’s face
Overwhelmed (adj)- to have too many things to deal with
Custom (n)- a way of behaving that is usual or traditional in a culture
Subtle cues (n. phrase)- signals that are hard to see
Gestures (n)- movement of the body
Cultural norms (n. phrase)- ways of behaving that are normal and acceptable in a culture
Nonverbal (adj)- without speaking
Culture shock (n. phrase)- a feeling of confusion, doubt or nervousness caused by being in a new place (such as a foreign country)
Stress (n), stressed (adj)- tension and worry
Incompetent (adj)- not having important abilities or skills
Adjust (v)- to change in order to do better in a new situation

Main Ideas, Details, and Genre

Check your understanding of the text by answering the questions below.

What is the topic of this text?
- Visiting Madrid, Spain
- Caitlin and her travels
- Culture shock
- Culture
A person would probably read this textbook chapter in a ___________class.
How does the chapter explain culture shock?
- By giving the important history of culture shock
- By telling a story that shows what culture shock is, and showing why it happens
- By discussing the advantages and disadvantages of culture shock
- By advising the reader not to get culture shock
What are three different cultural norms Caitlin noticed on her first day in Spain?
How did Caitlin feel by the end of her first day?
Why do people feel culture shock?
- They did not learn the language before they moved
- They like their own culture better than the new culture where they moved
- People in the new culture are rude and do not accept immigrants
- Differences in cultural norms are hard to understand, and make people feel stressed, alone, and overwhelmed

Vocabulary Practice

With classmates, write the answers to the questions below. Discuss first, then write your answers.

What are several examples of taboos in your culture?
Do people make a toast in your culture? If so, what do they say before they drink?
What facial expressions do people make when they are happy? angry?
Give an example of a time you felt overwhelmed.
What are three customs you follow from your culture?
Have you experienced culture shock? What did it feel like?
What are some things people can do to adjust quickly to a new culture?

Attribution

Excerpt adapted from Introduction to Sociology 2e, OpenStax.org.