7

Adapting to Unfamiliar Cultures

If you’re not willing to be changed by a place, there’s no point

going.
Mifflin 1996

Chapter outline

7.1 Culture shock and stress

7.2 Personal growth
7.3 Adaptation and the social context
7.4 Concluding comments
Suggestions for further reading

During the last three chapters we have explored the intercultural

competencies needed for effective and appropriate intercultural inter-
action, focusing particularly on the process of interaction. In this
chapter we turn to the individual and consider the impact that inter-
cultural interaction can have on the psychological welfare and growth
of those who experience such interaction, especially in unfamiliar
cultural settings. In Chapters 10 and 11, we examine ways of research-
ing this adaptation process and the extent to which people feel they
have adapted well.

7.1 Culture shock and stress

7.1.1 Understanding culture shock and stress

Culture shock is a common experience for people who spend an
extended period of time in a different cultural environment. The term

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© Helen Spencer-Oatey and Peter Franklin 2009
152 Conceptualizing Intercultural Interaction

refers to the psychological (and physical) consequences of changes in

circumstances, when people experience feelings such as the following:

● Sense of loss and feelings of deprivation, in relation to friends, status,

profession and possessions.
● Feelings of helplessness, not being able to cope with the new
environment.
● Irritation, anger about ‘foreign’ practices.
● Feelings of isolation, feeling rejected by (unable to get close to) mem-
bers of the new culture, or own rejection of them.
● Confusion in role, values and self-identity.

(See Experiential Example 7.1.) Less severe forms of such discom-

fort can also be experienced by those interacting with members of
other cultures in their home culture, working in multicultural virtual
teams or making a short trip abroad to visit a subsidiary of the home
organization.

Experiential Example 7.1 Culture shock in Britain

It was in the seventh or eighth month that I clearly was having symptoms
of culture shock: I was confused, annoyed, I asked questions like: ‘Why are
the banks not better?’ I was looking at identifying all the inefficiencies of the
British system. I hated the British business culture which I saw as slow, bureau-
cratic, cumbersome, lacking customer service, lacking initiatives. Fortunately,
I had a very good mentor and I could go on Friday afternoons and moan and
talk to him about my experiences. I was able to make a much better adjust-
ment, and after about 12 months I felt integrated and also reconciled.
(Female US Manager, cited by Marx 2001: 9)

The result of culture shock can be anxiety, depression, frustration,

anger and/or self-pity, and there can also be physiological and behav-
ioural consequences which vary from person to person. Some people
eat more and some eat less; some people sleep a lot and some have diffi-
culty sleeping; many people get frequent minor illnesses, and some lose
their ability to work effectively. Some people may withdraw, and, for
example, spend excessive amounts of time reading, or they may interact
only with fellow nationals and avoid contact with host nationals.
In fact, all of these symptoms stem from stress, and Berry (2006: 43)
argues that ‘acculturative stress’ is a more suitable term. Any kind of sig-
nificant change in our lives, whether positive or negative, and whether