Final answer:
Culture shock is the initial disorientation and frustration experienced in a new culture, whereas acculturation is the process by which individuals learn to navigate and adopt certain cultural practices. Assimilation is the complete conformity and loss of one's original cultural identity to blend into the dominant culture.
Step-by-step explanation:
When individuals are exposed to a new culture, they may initially feel disoriented and frustrated, a phenomenon known as culture shock. For example, someone might be perturbed by the difference in social norms, such as a student from China finding the U.S. classroom etiquette of asking questions openly to be rude. On the other hand, acculturation occurs when individuals learn and adopt certain aspects of the new culture, such as Black African students in the U.S. learning to navigate social expectations differently than in their home countries. In contrast, assimilation involves giving up one's original cultural identity and fully conforming to the dominant culture, which can be challenging due to barriers like language assimilation, socioeconomic factors, and discrimination.
As individuals progress through culture shock, they may start to adapt through a learning process, which takes time and may require developing new habits and understanding nonmaterial values, as anthropologist Ken Barger experienced among the Inuit community.