Final answer:
Culture shock refers to the stress experienced when encountering a new culture, first defined by Kalervo Oberg in 1960. Symptoms include disorientation, ethnocentrism, doubts about behavior, new expectations, and feeling out of sync with the local culture.
Step-by-step explanation:
When individuals encounter a new culture, they may go through a process known as culture shock. This term was first coined by anthropologist Kalervo Oberg in 1960, referring to the stress and disorientation experienced when interacting with a different culture. The symptoms of adjusting to a new culture include:
- Disorientation and frustration due to cultural differences.
- Biological clock disruption, feeling out of sync with local schedules.
- Feelings of ethnocentrism, where the original culture is favored over the new one.
- Experiencing stereotypes or new expectations, such as being expected to exhibit certain behaviors related to one's race or nationality.
- Doubt and discomfort about how to behave appropriately in the new environment.
- Difficulty in digesting new food, following new daily schedules, and learning new rules of etiquette.
- Stress, which can lead to a feeling of incompetence and insecurity.
These symptoms align with the experiences of those who travel abroad, move to a different state, or simply interact in unfamiliar cultural situations. Over time, as individuals learn more about the new culture and adapt to the differences, they often recover from culture shock and may internalize aspects of the new culture.