Explanation of the term culture shock

Culture shock, also called culture shock. It refers to the mental symptoms of deep anxiety caused by cultural conflicts and incompatibility among people who live or study in a non-native cultural environment

It does not refer to the clinical loss of consciousness caused by disease. Pathological shock is a medical term.

"Cultural Shock" is a concept proposed by American anthropologist Kalvero Oberg in 1958. It refers to the loss of one's self when a person enters an unfamiliar cultural environment. A feeling of loss, confusion, rejection and even fear caused by familiar symbols and means of social communication.

“Shock” originally refers to the loss of important functions of the human body, such as excessive blood loss, respiratory and circulatory failure, etc. However, when a person who has lived in his or her home culture for a long time suddenly comes to a completely different new cultural environment, he or she will often experience culture shock for a period of time.

The phenomenon of culture shock often occurs due to sudden exposure to a different cultural living environment or long-term separation from the original cultural living environment, and later returning to one's own original cultural living environment; it can also be It arises from being loyal to two or more cultural psychology at the same time. Culture shock is common among immigrants or when people with different cultural backgrounds within a society undergo fundamental changes due to cultural and living environments.

Research on cross-cultural and socio-cultural changes, psychological status and mental health is increasingly attracting attention from all countries and ethnic groups. Therefore, there are reports from all over the world. For example, Danish scholar Mirdal conducted a survey on female Turkish immigrants and found that most of these female immigrants had psychological and physical reactions, the most common of which was tension. In addition to factors such as disease, occupation, and crowded living conditions, the reasons are related to factors such as long-term separation between husband and wife, conflicts between their cultural level, religious beliefs, values, and lifestyles and the local cultural and living environment, and language barriers. At the same time, these immigrants suffer from severe psychological anxiety, helplessness and depression.

Graves’ survey results in New Zealand: Not all immigrants are accompanied by psychological problems. For example, the Ploynesians who immigrated to New Zealand have low educational levels, little experience in urban life, and many people to support, but their psychological problems But less. Through personality tests, it was found that most of these immigrants are less aggressive and gentler. This factor plays a role in buffering the stress of the social environment.