Culture bump

Archer (1991) described a culture bump as a phenomenon that occurs when an

individual has expectations about another person’s behavior within a particular
situation, but encounters a different behavior in that situation when interacting
with an individual from a different culture. Culture bump theory is concerned with
how cultural knowledge is acquired and its effect on intercultural relationships.
In examining how cultural knowledge is acquired, culture bump theory asserts that
people feel disconnected when encountering culture bumps and adopt coping
strategies to relieve their discomfort. A primary strategy is to attempt to
understand the motive for the Other’s behaviour, assuming that this understanding
will alleviate the anomie that emanated from the culture bump. However, gaining
culture-specific knowledge about why Others behave as they do results in only a
partial resolution of the original anomie. In fact, culture-specific knowledge
frequently strengthens the sense of separation by maintaining focus on the Other’s
culture. This knowledge does little to help persons experiencing the culture bump
to recognize their intersubjective biases. Archer (1991) theorized that another
level of knowledge is necessary to develop connection and to deepen intercultural
relationships.