What is it?

How can we deal with it?

What problems do we face when working/
studying across cultures?
Who are the most successful Sojourners?
Adapted from Smart (2010)
Some noticeable symptoms of
culture shock:
 Confused about what to do
 Anxious
 Frustrated
 Exhilarated and excited
 Inappropriate social behaviour
 Inability to get along with colleagues, managers, classmates,
teachers
 Unable to work well
 Isolated and lonely
 Depressed
 Guilty
Marks E, Breaking Through Culture Shock, What you need to succeed in international business
Common symptoms of culture
shock: Kohls (1984) in Ferraro G (2002) The Cultural Dimension of International Business 4th Ed New Jersey
Pearson Education Ltd

 Homesickness
 Boredom
 Withdrawal (e.g. Spending excessive amounts of time reading; seeing only people from
your own country, avoiding contact with host nationals
 Need for excessive amounts of sleep/not being able to sleep
 Compulsive eating/ not being able to eat
 Compulsive drinking
 Irritability
 Exaggerated cleanliness
 Marital stress
 Family tension and conflict
 Chauvinistic excesses
 Stereotyping of host nationals
 Loss of ability to work effectively
 Unexplainable fits of weeping
 Physical ailments (psychosomatic illnesses)
 Feelings of guilt
Milton Bennett’s Developmental
Model:
Moving from an homogeneous society
Ethnocentric – seeing the world from one point of view
Denial stage
 Difficult to conceptualise that others operate on completely different value
systems
 Do not contribute differences to culture but make value judgements
 Unless everything is done their way – it is bad
Defence stage
 Begin to realise their value systems may not be absolute
 Feel threatened
 Cast negative stereotypes on to others
Minimisation Stage – admit differences in culture but these are seen as
 Insignificant compared to similarities between all human beings
 Unaware culture is an integral part of everything
 Differences are superficial e.g. Food, dress, language etc.
Entry into ethnorelativism
Acceptance Stage
 Accepts own values and norms are not necessarily ‘right’
 Other culture’s values and norms are just as respectable
 Differences are not ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – these are accepted and respected – but not
necessarily adopted if they do not ‘fit’ own values and beliefs
Adaptation stage
 Marked by behavioural changes
 Accept cultural differences and emphasises with individuals from other
cultures
 Changes behaviour when interacting with other culture
 Does not lose own cultural identity
 Effective in more than one culture
Integration stage
 Integrates multiple sets of values into own identity
 Becomes multicultural
Difficulties caused by culture shock
 Language/communication barriers
 Loneliness
 Difficulty in penetrating the host society
 Not knowing how to react in a series of difficult
situations
 Always being the centre of attention

 Guirdham M, 2002, Interactive Behaviour at Work, 3rd Ed, Harlow, Pearson Education
When we work face to face with
those from other cultures, it:
 Increases our awareness of our own cultural biases
 Helps us to learn about the other’s different values, beliefs
and motivations

This means we need to:

 Overcome anxiety caused by intercultural contact
 Learn to self-present in a culturally acceptable way
 Use inclusive language
 Convey empathy
 Communicate a relationship orientation
Guirdham M, 2002, Interactive Behaviour at Work, 3rd Ed, Harlow, Pearson Education
Who are the most successful
sojourners ?
They usually have:
 A drive to communicate
 A broad based sociability
 Cultural flexibility
 Cosmopolitan orientation
 Collaborative negotiation style
Studying and culture shock
 Different expectations of the role of the
teacher/student
 Different teaching/learning styles
 Different assessments, research and presentation of
ideas
 Different ethical considerations
 Different ways of using time
Working and culture shock
 Different expectations of the role of the boss/worker
 Different perceptions of a contract, decision making,
motivation
 Different ethical considerations
 Different ways of using time
Culture Learning
 “Culture learning is the process whereby sojourners
acquire culturally relevant social knowledge and skills
in order to survive and thrive in their new society”.
(Ward, Bochner and Furnham ,2003: P51)
What are the key elements?
 Verbal and non-verbal communication – important
consideration. It has been proven that these vary
greatly across cultures. Participants are rarely aware of
these until something goes wrong and communication
is ineffective.
What happens when social interactions fail:
 Misperceptions
 Negative stereotypes
 Inter-group friction
Socially skilled individuals
 tend to be sensitive to how others respond to them and to
what is going on around them psychologically
 acquire a flexible behavioural repertoire - able to respond
appropriately in various social milieu

Socially inadequate skilled individuals:

 sometimes do not master the conventions of their own
society
 may be unaware of the rules of own society
 may be unable to master rules
 may be unwilling to use rules
 may be like strangers in their own land
How useful is the social skills/communication deficit
formulation to intercultural contact difficulties?

 Areas to consider :

 Polite usage – etiquette

 Resolving conflict
 Non-verbal communication
 mutual gaze
 bodily contact
 gestures
 Rules and conventions
 Forms of address
 CAT (Communication Accommodation Theory)