A sudden change in one’s surroundings can result in culture shock. Culture shock refers to the anxiety and surprise a person feels when he or she is discontented with an unfamiliar setting. The majority of practices or customs are different from what a person is used to. One may experience withdrawal, homesickness, or a desire for old friends. For example, when a person goes to live in a different place with unfamiliar surroundings, they may experience culture shock. Sometimes it is the result of losing their identity. In the article “The Phases of Culture Shock”, Pamela J. Brink and Judith Saunders describe four phases of culture shock. They are: Honeymoon Phase, Disenchantment Phase, Beginning Resolution Phase, and Effective Function Phase. These phases denote some of the stages that exemplify culture shock. The four phases are illustrated in the articles “New Immigrants: Portraits in Passage” by Thomas Bentz, “Immigrant America: A Portrait” by Alejandro Portes and Ruben G. Rumbaut, “When I Was Puerto Rican” by Esmeralda Santiago, “Today’s Immigrants, Their Stories” by Thomas Kessner and Betty Boyd Caroli, and lastly, “The New Americans: Immigrant Life in Southern California” by Ulli Steltzer, and are about the experiences of some immigrants. This essay will examine the four phases of culture shock and classify the experiences of these immigrants by the different phases of culture shock identified. The first phase of culture shock is the Honeymoon phase. This phase is marked by anticipation. In the Honeymoon phase a person looks forward to experiencing the new culture. The person is excited about learning about the new and different place, the people, or the customs. Usually, they are excited about the new exper... ... middle of paper ... ...says used also show us that all these four phases of culture shock can affect all types of people from all types of cultures. Works Cited Kiniry, Malcolm, and Mike Rose, eds. Critical Strategies, 3rd Ed. Boston, MA: St. Martin’s, 1998. Print. Bentz, Thomas, “New Immigrants: Portraits in Passage.” Kiniry and Rose 333-336. Print. Brink, Pamela J. and Judith Saunders, “The Phases of Culture Shock.” Kiniry and Rose 332-333. Print. Kessner, Thomas and Betty Boyd Caroli, “Today’s Immigrants, Their Stories.” Kiniry and Rose 343-346. Print. Portes, Alejandro and Ruben G. Rumbaut, “Immigrant America: A Portrait.” Kiniry and Rose 336-337. Print. Santiago, Esmeralda, “When I Was Puerto Rican.” Kiniry and Rose 337-343. Print. Steltzer, Ulli, “The New Americans: Immigrant Life in Southern California.” Kiniry and Rose 346-347. Print.
Early in the 20th century, there was a large increase of immigration not only in California, but the whole United states, and according to Dr. Joshua Paddison of Wittenberg University, “One-half million Mexicans migrated, with more than 30 percent setting in California” (Paddison, 1921-present: Modern California). Some of the immigrants’ transition from Mexico and into California be seen in both Ernesto Galarza’s “Barrio Boy”, and Richard Rodriguez’s “Proofs”. While both differentiate by their time period, there are some similar behavior patterns, such as the immigrants crossing over the border and into different states, their work, and their social life.
Culture often means an appreciation of the finer things in life; however, culture brings members of a society together. We have a sense of belonging because we share similar beliefs, values, and attitudes about what’s right and wrong. As a result, culture changes as people adapt to their surroundings. According to Bishop Donald, “let it begin with me and my children and grandchildren” (211). Among other things, culture influences what you eat; how you were raised and will raise your own children? If, when, and whom you will marry; how you make and spend money. Truth is culture is adaptive and always changing over time because
Vigdor, Jacob L. From Immigrants to Americans (The Rise and Fall of FittingiIn.) New York:
Moving from the unpleasant life in the old country to America is a glorious moment for an immigrant family that is highlighted and told by many personal accounts over the course of history. Many people write about the long boat ride, seeing The Statue of Liberty and the “golden” lined streets of New York City and how it brought them hope and comfort that they too could be successful in American and make it their home. Few authors tend to highlight the social and political developments that they encountered in the new world and how it affected people’s identity and the community that they lived in. Authors from the literature that we read in class highlight these developments in the world around them, more particularly the struggles of assimilating
Immigration in America is often broken down into distinct “waves”. These waves were the greatest influxes of immigration into the United States. The first settlements consisted of people from Spain, (in Florida) England, (in Virginal and Massachusetts), and others from France, Sweden, the Netherlands and sadly the slaves from Africa (Matthews, 2013). These people were the foundations of a nation that from its beginning was already multicultural, but still considered American. The second wave of immigration was in the 1800’s. 4 million Irish immigrants and 6 million German immigrants flocked to the eastern shores of the United States to escape from bad economies, hunger, and war. Tapering off during the Civil War another influx in the second wave of immigration happened after its conclusion. Hailing from Sweden, Norway and Denmark, these immigrants once again sought American shores to escape hard times in their home countries, this time shrinking land holds being the reason. After the discovery of gold in 1849 yet another influx of immigration boomed. With though...
Portes, Alejandro, and Ruben G. Rumbaut. Immigrant America: A Portrait. N.p.: University of California Press, 2006.
Shea, Therese. Immigration to America. 1st. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc, 2006. 38. Print.
when a person is in another place that has a different culture than he is used to, he will react by going along with the culture of the place that he is in rather than to stick to his own. When the
Adapting into “mainstream” American society has always been a difficult task for immigrants. Economic hardship and discrimination are only two of the many obstacles immigrants must overcome. This article discusses these and other difficulties faced by immigrants on individual and group levels. Immigrants can struggle with assimilation and movement up social hierarchies from both their own resistance to change as well as that resistance of the native majority. Other issues may be more cultural and psychological, as well as what seems to be a sociological tendency for immigrants of one ethnic or cultural background to band together in solidarity, especially from an economic standpoint. Many immigrants and minorities find themselves being railroaded
Culture shock is our psychological reaction to an unfamiliar or alien environment, which often occurs during a major transitional experience. Oberg (1958) referred to culture shock as “a generalized trauma one experiences in a new and different culture because of having to learn and cope with a vast array of cultural cues and expectations, while discovering that your old ones probably do not fit or work.”
a. Culture Shock, page 34: The disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken-for-granted assumptions about life.
“America is the only country in the world where you can suffer culture shock without leaving home.” Humans rely on culture “with a side” of instinct for everything. When we remove ourselves from our culture we become disoriented -we get culture shocked.
Everyone reacts differently to new environments.While some are excited others are upset to have to leave important people behind. Culture shock comes in many different forms and sizes, some may find it harder to adjust than others. The difficulties to adjusting don’t always show up right away (TeensHealth). Culture shock is experienced in many different ways some common feelings are; sadness, loneliness, anxiety, trouble concentrating, feeling left out, negative feelings towards the new culture and frustration (TeensHealth). These feelings are temporary, eventually people get used to their surroundings. Although, many have been planning on the change for a long time, many still experience the impact of culture shock (International Students and Culture Shock). A huge majority of the cultures norms are based on language.
Heine (2015) defines acculturation as “the process by which people migrate to and learn a culture that is different from the original culture” (p. 258). Acculturation often requires for the individual to adjust responses of engrained life scripts in order to compensate for cultural differences. Often time acculturation results in alterations of a person’s social identity and self-image. Immigrants to the United States must negotiate a new culture. This paper seeks to understand acculturation into mainstream society as it relates to an individual’s experience past and present.
The study of culture shock, its cause, effects and ways of overcoming it provides a basis for psychological