5 phases of Culture Shock

Hello! The following blog may be quite long and boring for most of you. As some of you know lately I have really been missing researching and writing essays. One of the things I really enjoyed at uni was gathering pieces of information from different sources, researching different topics, and then somehow putting them together into an essay type thing. Researching a topic has been at the front of my mind lately, and I think it is because I am only just realizing how much I am missing being stimulated with ideas for thought (as I was at uni). As a result of this, I have challenged myself to find a topic of interest, research it, and write up a summary of my points of interest.
So here it is.


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THE FIVE PHASES OF CULTURE SHOCK

One in three young Australians prefer to holiday overseas rather than within Australia (VISA, 2007). According to Tourism Australia, in the year ending 30th April 2008, there were 5.6 million visitor arrivals to Australia. These are just some of the statistics that demonstrate world-wide travel is alive and kicking. In 2009, Nyall and I plan to spend 12+ months traveling foreign countries, and we have many friends, world-wide, who have similar plans. Travel, whether overseas or within Australia, is an extremely popular phenomenon. Culture shock can be defined as the feelings or anxiety, such as confusion, disorientation and surprise, that are felt when a person is immersed in an unfamiliar culture (Thanks Wikipedia!). Due to my intentions to travel throughout 2009 and beyond, I believe it is important to examine what I can expect to experience emotionally. Although I have no evidence, I am hoping that being prepared will lessen the severity of culture shock.

Kalvero Olberg was one of the earliest founders of the five phases of culture shock. Unfortunately Olberg did not publish much of his work, but in 1954 gave a lecture outlining his ideas surrounding the phases of culture shock, for of which he is now most famous (Davis, 2003). There are various other intellectuals that discuss the different phases of culture shock, but Olberg's resonated with me the most, and the majority of them seem to base themselves off Olberg's ideas anyway.

Before I begin, many intellectuals who have studied this say that these phases may not happen to everyone, can last for differing periods of time, can occur in any possible order, and in differing degrees of intensity. So basically, expect anything!

First Phase: Honeymoon Phase
The first phase is often referred to the Honeymoon Phase, or euphoria. This phase is usually at the beginning of travels, where the traveler is excited to experience new things. If they are anything like me, they have been planning this trip for months and will be super excited just to be in the place they have dreamed of. Addison (2008) notes that in the first few days things will usually go smoothly, as the traveler will be excited about the new place, new people, and new sights, sounds, smells and tastes. According Jacobs (2007), the traveler will be enthusiastic, and any problems that may arise will be taken in their stride, and be seen as interesting and fun. During this first phase travelers will often be sheltered and supported, and without responsibility of the challenges that are inherent in everyday life (Addison, 2008; Jacobs, 2007). Unfortunately, this phase does not last long enough for many travelers.

Second Phase:
SW College (2008) refers to the second phase of culture shock as “Irritation & Hostility Phase”, or Addison (2008) refers to it as the “Rejection Phase”. As you would have guessed by the names, it is during this phase that the traveler becomes uncomfortable in their surroundings. The traveler will begin to notice dissimilarities between life in their foreign and home countries, and their initial curiosity has shifted to irritation, frustration, anger and depression (SW College, 2008; Addison, 2008). Addison (2008) adds that the traveler will considerably complain about their host country, paying particular attention to only the negative things that happen to them. According to SW College (2008), likely symptoms of culture shock in this phase include homesickness, boredom, unexplainable fits of weeping and exaggerated cleanliness (for a full list, see reference below). SW College (2008) adds that minor nuisances and inconveniences that occur to the traveler during this phase can lead to serious distress. According to Addison (2008), “At this stage the newcomer either gets stronger and stays, or gets weaker and goes home (physically, mentally or both)”.


Third Phase:
The third phase is often excluded in the five phases of culture stock, and presented as part of the rejection stage. Addison (2008) refers to the third phase as the regression phase. During this phase the traveler will often revert back to their old ways of doing things, such as speaking in their home language, watch videos from their home country, eat foods from home, and continue to complain about their host country. During this phase the traveler may fail to see the aspects that originally attracted them to their host country, forget the negative aspects of their home country, and even begin to question why they left their home in the first place (Addison, 2008). Addison (2008) also adds that hostility towards the host country often remains, and the traveler will often avoid locals.

I am hoping that Nyall and I will have the strength to survive past the third phase!

Fourth Phase:
During the fourth phase of cultural shock, the feelings of anxiety decrease. It is often known as the adaption phase(SW College, 2008). The traveler will become more comfortable in their host country, and more familiar with the language and customs (Addison, 2008). Addison (2008) claims that problems will still arise, but the traveler will be more confident in handling them. They may start to realise that no country is better than another, but rather each culture has different ways to deal with problems. Further down the track, in the complete adjustment phase, the traveler may even prefer the different foods, drinks, habits and customs of the foreign culture, and above all, experience low levels of anxiety (Addison, 2008).

Fifth Phase:
The reverse culture shock phase. The fifth phase occurs later down the track, when the traveler returns home. Once the traveler has become comfortable in a new culture, with different foods, drinks, smells, sights and sounds, it may difficult for them to slip back into old relationships and ways of doing things. Similar phases that are listed above may reoccur. (Addison, 2008; SW College, 2008; Wikipedia, 2008)

These are some of the things that I, or any other traveler, can expect to experience when traveling to different cultures. When Nyall and I are in Latin America next year I am certain that the honeymoon phase will wear off when we get over the excitement and enthusiasm of the newness of everything. I can expect that we will experience feelings of boredom and homesickness, and I can only pray right now that we are strong enough to appreciate the diversity that we will witness. From my small amount of research, I have learnt that the feelings associated with the anxiety we will experience overseas will be 'real' feelings, and even though they can be expected, they are true feelings, and if we do not look after ourselves they can become quite serious. I am hoping that this small amount of research will equip me greater for the things we may experience.

If you have already been reading my blog posts, you will know that I like to add disclaimers for my work. I just want to add that I have only done an extremely small amount of research for this text, and there are a vast number of more knowledgeable writings on this topic (for goodness sake, I used wikipedia as a reference!). I needed to research and write this for my own personal use in preparation for my travels, and if it interests you I encourage you to look into it more.

Until next time,
have a good one!
Maryanne.xx


Addison, E., accessed 20th June 2008, “Culture Shock: A Fish out of Water”, http://www.johnsesl.com/templates/reading/cultureshock/

Davis, B., 2003, “Kalvero Olberg”, http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/klmno/oberg_kalvero.html.

Jacobs, K., 2007, “Culture Shock”, http://www.hagshama.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=1445

SW College, 2008, “What is Culture Shock?” http://cat.sckans.edu/builders_abroad/Culture_Shock.htm

Tourism Australia, “Visitor Arrivals Data” [Accessed 20th June, 2008] http://www.tourism.australia.com/Research.asp?sub=0318&al=2906

VISA, 2007, “One in Three Australians prefer holidaying overseas” http://www.visa-asia.com/ap/au/mediacenter/pressrelease/NR_Au_270206_Au_traveling.shtml

Wikipedia, “Culture Shock” [Accessed 20th June 2008] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_shock