Cultural Shock and Adaptation

Abstract

Multicultural domestic and international relations create cultural shock for both immigrant and resident groups. This article addresses the nature, stages, and causes of cultural shock to provide broad guidelines for managing cultural shock experiences in a variety of circumstances. Cultural shock is described from psychophysiological and sociocultural perspectives. The nature of cultural shock experiences suggests that resolution be addressed through cognitive orientation and behavioral adjustment involving recognition of cultural shock characteristics and implementation of strategies for its resolution. Adaptive strategies for guiding constructive interventions are summarized from an integration of literature on cultural shock adaptation, cross‐cultural training effectiveness, and intercultural effectiveness.