Culture Shock Midterm

Sojourner

• between society culture travelers whose stay is temporary & have an intention to return to their culture of origin once the purpose of the visa has been achieved

• sometimes the assumption they intend to go back to culture of origin is incorrect

• Business people, overseas students, missionaries, diplomats

Similarity-Attraction Hypothesis

• predicts that individuals are more likely to seek out, enjoy, understand, want to work + play with, trust, believe, vote for, and generally prefer people with whom they share characteristics

  • interests

  • values

  • religion

  • skills

  • age

  • physical attributes

Hofstede’s 6 Dimensions of Culture

• power distance index

• individualism v. collectivism

• masculinity v femininity

• uncertainty avoidance index

• long term v short erm normative orientation

• indulgence v restraint

Western Culture

• European countries as well as those that have been heavily influenced by European immigration, such as USA

Eastern Culture

• far East Asia including China, Japan, Vietnam, North Korea, South Korea & the Indian Subcontinent

• less of a distinction between secular society & religious philosophy than there is in the West

cultural syndromes

• patterns of attitudes, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that can be used to contrast & compare groups of cultures

  • 3 major major cultural syndromes:

    • cultural complexity

    • tight vs. loose cultures

    • individualism/collectivism

tourists

visitors whose length of stay exceeds 24 hours in a location away from home & whose main incentive for travel is other than financial

Hammer, Gudykunst, and Wisemans 3 factor model of intercultural effectiveness

• ability to manage psychological stress

• ability to communicate effectively

• ability to establish interpersonal relationships

Black & Stevens 1989 3 factors of sojourner adjustment

• general adjustment (managing daily activities)

• intersection adjustment (relating effectively to host nationals

• Work adjustment (accomplishing work related objectives)

Ward et all 2 categories intercultural adaption can be divided into

• Psychological Adjustment: based on affective responses, refers to feelings of well being or satisfaction during cross cultural transitions

• Sociocultural Adaptation: situated within the behavioral domain & refers to the ability to ‘fit in; or execute effective interactions in a new cultural milieu

Low Context Communication Cultures

• convert info directly & rely on verbal communication

  • independence & individualism emphasized

  • no concept of face

  • everyone is responsible for themselves

  • English, North American, Swiss, German

High context communication culture

• convey limited info in coded messaged; are more apt to be influenced by situational cues + communicated in an indicted & other ambiguous fashion

  • people feel responsible for their family

  • value the concept of face or strong public image

  • Chinese, Korean, Arab

contact cultures

• Arab, latin America, southern European groups

• may be seen as sexually predatory to low contact cultures