1. Sweet Home Alabama?An Exploration of Culture Shock TheoryErin Weston, Georgia College & State University

2. Anxiety and stress reactions that somepeople experience when they live in acultural and linguistic environmentthat is significantly different fromtheir ownWhat is Culture Shock? 3. Four Common Stages: Fun Flight Fight FitStage Based Models 4. Differences are intriguing Youre excited, stimulated and enriched Still feeling close to everything back homeHoneymoon 5. Differences create an impact Experiences dont feel new, and start to get you down Confused, isolated and inadequate Realize that familiar support systems are not easilyaccessibleDistress 6. You start whining Dislike culture, food, languagereject it as inferior May develop prejudices and feel hostile to those aroundyou Start to idealize life back home You may quit/give up after this stageRe-integration 7. First stage in acceptance You begin to emerge from the fog Start to accept differences, more confident and better ableto cope Begin to appreciate where you areAutonomy 8. You are yourself again! You embrace your new cultural in a realistic light You feel comfortable, confident and able to makedecisions based on your preferences and values You understand the differences and similarities betweenyour own and the new culture You no longer feel alone and start to feel at homeIndependence 9. Break Out Groups 10. Understand that it is normal Keep in touch with home Focus on what you can controldont spend energy onthings you cant change Dont avoid major stressors, but also dont makemountains out of molehills Ask for help Keep a journal Compare and contrast Ask questionsHow to overcome culture shock 11. Immersion in a culture and moving through the stages ofculture shock is a significant learning experience It makes you more aware of aspects of your own culture Its not a sign youve made a mistake or that you wontmanageWhy its good 12. RELEVANCE IN ADVISING?Do we see this in our students, co-workers, orourselves? 13. Erin Weston Georgia College & State Universityerin.weston@gcsu.edu 478.445.2634 http://www.deborahswallow.com/ http://www.studentsabroad.com/cultureshock.html Analysis of Impact of Culture Shock on Individual PsychologyXia, Junzi.International Journal of Psychological Studies1. 2 (Dec2009): 97-101. CULTURE SHOCK IN INTERCULTURALCOMMUNICATION Flanja, Delia.Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai. Studia Europaea, suppl. SPECIAL ISSUE ON THEPROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL..54. 4 (2009): 107-124.Resources