1、Chapter 5 Culture Shock in Intercultural Communication1.Goals:1.to identify the 5 stages of culture shock 2.to identify the definitions of HC and LC 2.n“Culture Shock”,first identified in 1958 by anthropologist Kalvero Oberg,is a long term psychological stress that all human beings experience when t
2、hey move to a completely new cultural environment.3.n Culture shock usually sets in the first few weeks of moving to a new environment,though sometimes can take longer to surface.n Culture shock,like a disease,has causes,symptoms and cures.4.1.Culture Shock refers to the traumatic tr:mtik experience
3、 that an individual may encounter when entering a different culture.expresses the lack of direction,the feeling of not knowing what to do or how to do things in a new environment,and not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate.5.the physical and emotional discomfort one suffers when coming to l
4、ive in another country or a place different from the place of origin troublesome feelings such as depression,loneliness,confusion,inadequacy,hostility,frustration,and tension,caused by the loss of familiar cues from the home culture6.2.Symptoms of culture shock na.physical symptoms over-concerned ab
5、out cleanliness of food,bedding,and dishes,extreme stress on health and safety;fear of physical contact with anyone in the new country;great concern over minor pains and skin eruptions(出疹);craving“home cooking”;use of alcohol and drugs;and a decline in work quality.7.b.psychological symptoms insomni
6、a insmni,fatigue,isolation and loneliness,disorientation,frustration,criticism of new country,depression,nervousness,self-doubt,irritability,anger,and emotional and intellectual withdrawal.8.9.3.Causes of culture shock Cultural stress Social alienation Social class and poverty-wealth extremes Financ
7、ial matters Relationships and family considerations10.a.Cultural Stress Entering an unfamiliar culture is stressful;in fact,transitions of any type are both psychologically and physically stressful.Problems with housing,climate,services,or communication in another language bring additional stress.11
8、.b.Social Alienation An aspect of culture shock that can have adverse effects upon the newcomers to a culture is social alienation and the feelings of loneliness that are associated with being isolated from friends and the home culture.12.c.Social class and poverty-wealth extremes Class distinctions
9、 do exist in many countries,but are so complicated and subtle that visitors from other countries often miss the nuances nju:ns(细微差别)and even the existence of a class structure.13.d.Financial matters Adapting to a new culture and reentering the home culture involve financial adjustments,such as cost
10、and availability of housing,banking practices,use of credit cards and checks,and costs of schooling.14.e.Relationships and family considerations Problems related with relationships such as failure of the spouse and other family members to adapt to the new culture are a major factor in the early retu
11、rn of expatriates.15.4.Stages of culture shock The honeymoon stage The hostility stage The recovery stage The adjustment stage The biculturality stage16.The first stage of initial contact,sometimes called the“honeymoon”stage or initial euphoria ju:f:ri(幸福愉快感),is where everything is new and exciting.
12、-eager to please people around,cooperation,interest in listening to peoplea.the“honeymoon”stage 17.E.g.nA European-based joint venture company has just hired Mr.Wang.With his fine university record,English proficiency and good work record,he successfully competed with many other applicants to win th
13、e entry-level position.The company has just built a state-of-the-art(顶尖水准的)factory in the outskirts of his hometown,which means that he can go ahead with his plans to marry without delay.18.b.the hostility stagethe crisis or disenchantment(失望)stage The second stage is characterized by frustration,an
14、ger,anxiety and sometimes depression.-tired of listening to and speaking another language,difficult to work with,try everyones patience19.E.g.nA Westerner in China who suspects he is being cheated by a vendor may simply toss his bag of fruit back and walk away,or he might start yelling and accusing
15、in whatever language he is able to manage.20.c.the recovery stage(the reintegration stage)The third stage is characterized by gaining some understanding of the new culture.-a new feeling of pleasure and sense of humor,a certain psychological balance,a feeling of direction21.E.g.nThe same Westerner w
16、ho 6 month earlier walked away from the street vendor in anger,now confidently enters a Chinese hotel ready to bargain for a reduction in the foreigners room mate.22.d.the adjustment stage In the fourth stage,people realize the new culture has good and bad things to offer.This integration is accompa
17、nied by a more solid feeling of belonging.(double or triple integration)-feel good/at ease,successfully adjusted to the new culture23.E.g.nWu Lian,studying in America now,has learned which of her classmates are worth spending time with and how to ask them the right questions to learn what she needs
18、to know.She has made new friends.24.nBy this time she is able to accept both the similarities and the differences between his home culture and the new culture.She becomes more sensitive to local people and as a result,her relationship with them is becoming warmer and more personal.Life is becoming m
19、ore comfortable.25.e.the biculturality stage(the full adjustment stage)Biculturality:the healthy and even ideal stage of adaptation in which ones original cultural world view remains intact as alternative cultural frames are acquired.In the final stage people become able to cope comfortably in both
20、home and new cultures.However,full adjustment can take years.26.nAt this stage the person has grown as a human being and has been replaced by a new one that functions at a higher level of human sensitivity and self-awareness.27.5.Reverse culture shocknmay occur upon returning to the home country if
21、a person has adjusted exceptionally well to the host culture.n return/reentry culture shocknreturnees28.There are usually two elements that characterize re-entry:nAn idealized view of homenThe expectation of total familiarity(that nothing at home has changed while you have been away)A problem arises
22、 when reality doesnt meet these expectations.Home may feel so foreign.29.nReverse culture shock is usually described in four stages:qDisengagementqInitial euphoriaqIrritability and hostilityqReadjustment and adaptation6.Stages of reverse culture shock 30.nStage 1 begins before you leave your host co
23、untry.You begin thinking about re-entry and making your preparations for your return home.You also begin to realize that its time to say good-bye to your friends abroad and to the place youve come to call home.The hustle and bustle of finals,good-bye parties,and packing can intensify your feelings o
24、f sadness and frustration.You already miss the friends youve made,and you are reluctant to leave.Or,you may make your last few days fly by so fast that you dont have time to reflect on your emotions and experiences.31.nStage 2 usually begins shortly before departure,and it is characterized by feelin
25、gs of excitement and anticipation-even euphoria-about returning home.This is very similar to the initial feelings of fascination and excitement you may have when you first entered your host country.You may be very happy to see your family and friends again,and they are also happy to see you.The leng
26、th of this stage varies,and often ends with the realization that most people are not as interested in your experiences abroad as you had hoped.They will politely listen to your stories for a while,but you may find that soon they are ready to move on to the next topic of conversation.32.nStage 3 You
27、may experience feelings of frustration,anger,alienation,loneliness,disorientation,and helplessness and not understand exactly why.You might quickly become irritated or critical of others and of home culture.Depression,feeling like a stranger at home,and the longing to go back abroad are also not unc
28、ommon reactions.You may also feel less independent than you were while abroad.33.Stage 4na gradual readjustment to life at home.Things will start to seem a little more normal again,and you will probably fall back into some old routines,but things wont be exactly the same as how you left them.You hav
29、e most likely developed new attitudes,beliefs,habits,as well as personal and professional goals,and you will see things differently now.The important thing is to try to incorporate the positive aspects of your international experience while abroad with the positive aspects of your life at home.34.35
30、.36.37.nA.Defense mechanisms against culture shock repression regression isolation rejectionnThese methods are not helpful because they prevent us from making necessary adjustment to the new culture.7.Strategies for managing culture shock 38.nB.Alleviating culture shock learning throughout your stay
31、 get involved aster simple tasks try to understand learn to live with ambiguity be empathetic(移情)be flexible and resourceful(机智的)be humorous39.nIn his book Beyond Cultures(published in 1976 by Anchor Press/Doubleday,in New York),Hall distinguishes among cultures on the basis of the role of context i
32、n communication and classify culture patterns into high-context culture and low-context culture.8.High-context Culture&Low-context Culture40.ContextnAccording to Hall,context refers to the stimuli,environment,ambience mbins(周围环境)surrounding an event.nHall arranged low-and high-context countries on a
33、 continuum as follows:German North American French Spanish Greek ChineseGerman-Swiss Scandinavian English Italian Mexican Arab JapaneseLC culturesHC cultures41.n高日本人中国人韩国人非裔美国人美国土著人阿拉伯人希腊人拉丁美洲人意大利人英国人法国人美国人斯堪的纳维亚人瑞士人德国人低42.8-1 What is HCHall states:n“High context transactions feature pre-programmed
34、information that is in the receiver and in the setting,with only minimal information in the transmitted message.n Low context transactions are the reverse.Most of the information must be in the transmitted message in order to make up for what is missing in the context.”43.Low context culturenrefers
35、to groups of cultures that value individual orientation and overt communication codes and maintains a heterogeneous normative structure with low cultural demand characteristics.44.High context culturenrefers to groups of cultures that value group identity orientation and covert communication codes a
36、nd maintains a homogeneous normative structure with high cultural demand characteristics.45.nIn high-context cultures most of the information is in the physical context or is internalized in the people who are a part of the interaction.Very little information is actually coded in the verbal message.
37、nIn low-context cultures,most of the information is contained in the verbal message,and very little is embedded in the context or within the participants46.8-2 Some Features of HC&LCnHigh-context establish social trust first value personal relations and goodwill agreement by relations and goodwill n
38、egotiations slownLow-context get down to business first value expertise and performance agreement by specific,legalistic context negotiations as efficient as possible47.Low Context High Context8-3 Comparing low-to high-context culturesTends to prefer direct verbal interactionTends to understand mean
39、ing at one level Tends to prefer indirect verbal interactionTends to understand meaning at many socio-cultural levels Is generally less proficient in reading nonverbal cuesIs generally more proficient in reading nonverbal cuesValue individualismValue group membershipRelies more on logicRelies more o
40、n context and feelingEmploy linear logicEmploy spiral logicSays no directlyTalks around point;avoid saying noCommunicates in highly structured(context)messages,provides details,stresses literal meanings,gives authority to written informationCommunicates in simple,ambiguous,non-contexted messages;und
41、erstands visual messages readily48.nIllustrations Context and Chinese Language by Edward Hall,1976nChina,the possessor of a great and complex culture,is on the high-context end of the scale.One notices this particularly in the written language of China,which is 35 hundred years old and has changed v
42、ery little in the past 3 thousand years.The need for context is experienced when looking up words in a Chinese dictionary.To use a Chinese dictionary,the reader must know the significance of 214 radicals(偏旁,部首)(there are no counterparts for radicals in the Indo-European languages).49.nFor example,to
43、 find the word for star one must know that it appears under the sun radical.To be literate in Chinese,one has to be conversant(精通)with Chinese history.Another interesting sidelight(花絮新闻;趣闻)on the Chinese orthography is that it is also an art form.To my knowledge,no low-context communication system h
44、as ever been an art form.Good art is always high-context;bad art,low-context.50.Cultural differences at the airportnYou will notice an interesting phenomenon at the arrival gates of international airports.Usually there is a group of family members or a host waiting to meet the Chinese,Japanese,and o
45、ther Asians who are getting off the airplane.Often there is no one waiting to meet the Westerners who are arriving.They just collect their baggage and then take a taxi or a bus to their destination.51.nApparently the Asians think that no one arriving in an unfamiliar place should be left to find the
46、ir on their own.They need people at this time.Westerners are more likely to assume that certain predictable services will be available such as hotel booking counters and transportation services and that they can find these and the city and already learned a lot about the airport,hotels,tourist site,
47、what people he will need to contact for particular purposes once he gets there,where to get a good dinner,and more.52.nWesterners,as low-context communicators,look for,trust and use impersonal sources of information while communicators from more high-context cultures prefer personal sources of infor
48、mation.53.A cross-cultural dialoguenForeign affair officer(FAO):Foreign teachers ask me for lots of information before they come to China.nForeign teacher(FT):What do you tell them?nFAO:I tell them theyll find out everything that they need to know when they get here.nFT:Oh.nFAO:Yes,my office and the
49、 teaching departments arrange everything for them.Every foreign teacher has a contact person to help them with problems of teaching and daily life.54.nWesterners appreciate the personal help they receive when they come to China,but they also want low-context information to help them plan,act and adj
50、ust to a new situation.nHigh-context communicators need the low-context messages they receive,but without human helpers they experience their new cultural situation as cold and impersonal.55.8-4 Comparing U.S.and Foreign ViewsHow U.S.Persons How Foreigners View View Themselves U.S.Persons Informal,f