1. Cultural adaptation
cultural adaptation refersto the processand time ittakesa personto assimilate toanew culture.
Cultural adaptationisthe processof changingmindsetorbehaviorswhenmovingintoanew cultural
contextsoyou can live within thatculture.
When immigrants move to a county with a different culture to their own, they may need to make
some adjustments. For example,anew immigrantmayneedtolearnhow tonavigate the new culture’s
normsand behaviors(whentoshake hands,how to talkto yourboss,how tomake sure youdon’t
soundrude,etc.).
It isnot alwaysan easytransition.Livinginanew culture canbe jarringandverydifficulttoprocess,
especiallyif itisdrasticallydifferentfromyourown.A personthatis beingintroducedintoanew culture
can feel avarietyof differentsensations.Forexample,one mayfeel frustratedbecause she orhe cannot
communicate orbecome angrybecause certaincultural normsdonot make sense.Insome cultures,
spittinginpublicisconsideredbadmanners.How wouldyoufeel if youendedupina culture where
spittinginpublicwasokayanddone by everyone?Itmaymake youfeel uncomfortable whenthe people
of thatculture thinknothingof it.
Stages ofCultural Adaptation
Over the years, there have been numerous adaptations of the different stages of the theory of
cultural adaptation. One of the most well-known models was the U-curve proposed by Sverre
Lysgaard.
This model included four different stages.
 the honeymoon stage,
 the culture shock stage,
 the recovery stage.
 the adjustment stage.
Stage 1: The HoneymoonStage
The firststage of cultural adaptationiscalledthe honeymoonstage.Thisstage typicallyextendsfrom
arrival throughthe firstcouple of monthswithinthe new country.
It isdescribedasbeingfilledwithexcitementandcuriosity.Peoplegooutof theirway to getacclimated
to the culture,oftentakinglanguage lessonsandtryingtoadhere tocultural norms.Theyalsofindthat
the normal,everydaytasksfromhome are now more challenging.Orderinginarestaurant,havingthe
Internetturnedonintheirapartment,orsimplytakingataxi to the otherside of townbecomesmore of
an adventure.
Stage 2: The Culture Shock Stage
The secondstage tendsto start three to fourmonthsafterarrival.It ischaracterizedbythe feelingof
culture shock,alsodescribedasthe sensationof confusionassociatedwithexperiencinganew culture.

2. Thisstage can be difficultaspeople begintonotice extreme differencesbetweentheirnative culture
and the newone.Howwouldyoufeel if youdidnotlike the foodof the new culture andcouldnot have
the foodyou normallylike toeat?Forinstance,inKorea,one of the traditional dishesiscalledSannakji.
Thisis raw octopus tentaclesthatare servedstill moving.Thisissomethingthatmightcause someone
an extreme amountof culture shockif theyhave neverseenitbefore.
Or, whatif you were tryingtolearnabout thisnew culture,butpeople getfrustratedwhenyoudonot
understandrightaway?These experiencescanbe discouragingandcanalsoinspire feelingsof
homesickness,leadingtothe rejectionof the new culture.
Stage 3: The RecoveryStage
Thisthirdstage happensovertime,andthe pace isdifferentforeveryone.Duringthe recoverystage
people starttobecome more understandingof the new culture.Perhapsbefore,theywerebotheredby
the strict hierarchysystematworkthat preventedthemfromtalkingdirectlytotheirboss.Inthe
recoverystage,theynotonlyunderstandthatthisisjustan aspectof the culture butalso start to find
waysto work withinthatsystem.Astheybecome more integratedintothe new culture,theymayeven
begintostart to questiontheiridentitywithinit.Thismayentail asking self-reflectivequestionssuchas,
‘Whoam I now?,’‘WhowasI before?,’and‘Where ismyhome?’
Stage 4: The AdjustmentStage
Duringthe final stage of cultural adaptation,the personhassuccessfullyovercome culture shock.
The adjustmentstage isalsowhena personwithinthe new culture realizesthatthere are goodand bad
aspectsto it,justlike theirnative culture.Inaddition,theynotonlyhave agoodunderstandingof the
differentcultural normsbutcan alsolive and functionwithinthem.Thiscouldsimplybe acknowledging
that eatingonthe Metro is notacceptable,orthat lookingeldersinthe eye while speakingis
disrespectful andrude.Or,forinstance,thisisacrowdedstreetinIndia.Someoneinthe adjustment
stage wouldfindthisnormal andbe perfectlycomfortablewalkingtothe store.
For people whoare inthe adjustmentstage,theywillnotonlyknow these cultural normsbutwill also
be able to followthemevenif theyare nota part of theirnative culture.

3. Challenge
An importantchallengethat Peopleface inadaptingtounfamiliarcultures:how tomanage (cognitively
and affectively) the interrelationshipbetweenthe ‘old’andthe ‘new’culture. Berrysuggests thatpeople
face two fundamental questionsinrelationtothis:
(1) howmuch value theyattachto maintenance of theirheritagecultural identityandcharacteristics
2) howmuch value theyattachto building/maintainingrelationshipswiththe largersociety.He has
proposedavery well-knownacculturationframeworkwhichmapspeople’sdifferentcombinationsof
preferencesoverthese twoissues.
Acculturation isthe processof social andpsychological adjustmentthattakesplace whentwodifferent
culturesmeet.Acculturationisexperiencedbyimmigrants,refugeesoranybodytakinganextendedstay
ina foreigncountry.Berry(2005) proposedthatpeople experiencingacculturationbehave inone of four
ways:
1. Assimilation:adaptingtothe new culture andleavingthe original culture behind.
2. Separation: Avoidinginteractionswiththe new culture andholdingontothe original culture.
3. Integration:Becomingbi-cultural.Integratingwiththe new culture whilststill maintainingthe
original culture.
4. Marginalisation:Leavingthe original culture behindbutstrugglingtointegrate inthe new
culture due to discrimination.
Berrypointsout,people cannotnecessarilypursue independentlytheirpreferredacculturation
orientations;theyare alsoconstrainedorfacilitatedbythe preferencesof others.Forexample,people
can onlypursue integrationorseparationif othermembersof theircultural groupsimilarlywantto
maintaintheirheritage culture.
the attitudesandsocial policiesof the dominantgroupmayrestrictpeople’sopportunitiesfor
integration.He explainsthisasfollows
• Integrationcanonlybe freelychosenandsuccessfullypursedbynon-dominantgroupswhenthe
dominantsocietyisopenandinclusiveinitsorientationtowardscultural diversity.
• Thus,a mutual accommodationisrequiredforintegrationtobe attained,involvingthe
acceptance by bothdominantandnon-dominantgroupsof the rightof all groupsto live as
culturallydifferentpeopleswithinthe same society.
This strategyrequiresnon-dominantgroupstoadoptthe basicvaluesof the largersociety,while at
the same time the dominantgroupmustbe preparedtoadapt national institutions(e.g.,education,
health,labor) tomeetbetterthe needsof all groupsnow livingtogetherinthe plural society.This
latterarrangementiscalledmulticulturalism
However,the policyof multiculturalismdoesnotnecessarilypromoteintegration,associetiesacrossthe
developedworldhave experiencedandasa numberof opinionleadersaroundthe worldhave recently
argued.For example, SirTrevorPhillips,Chairof the CommissionforRacial Equalityinthe United
Kingdom,andGeorge Alagiah,aprominentBritishjournalistwhowasborninSri Lanka,both argue that

4. multiculturalismhasledtosegregatedcommunitiesandeconomicdisadvantage formany.Inaddition,
‘local’people oftendislike the policy,feelingthatitis‘unfair’(e.g.,abelief thatlocal authoritiesgive
prioritytoimmigrantsinallocatingsocial housing,etc.) andthatitis underminingtheirtraditional
customsand waysof life. Insteadof encouraging‘mutual tolerance’,multiculturalismencourages ethnic
exclusivity.Multiculturalism, withitsemphasisondiversityandcultural retention,hasbeenapoor
mediumthroughwhichtotackle economicdisadvantage.Segregationalone isbadenough,butwhenit
iscoupledwithpovertyitseffectcanbe trulypoisonous.Forthose people caughtbetweenthe twinevils
of racismand penury,marginalizedsociallyandgeographically,multiculturalismisfailingtodeliverwhat
it promisedall those yearsago.
Phillips(2004) recommendstwotypesof strategies:
 physically(e.g.,ensuringsupermarkets,schoolsandotherservicesare builttobe shared
betweencommunitiesandnotforone at the expenseof the other).
 cultural interactioninitiativesthatwill helppeople fromdifferentcommunitiestounderstand
each other.
Both of these workon the assumptionthatcontactis the keyto promotingintegration.Contactis
certainlyaprerequisite,butitisinsufficientinitself.
Conclusion
We have focusedonthe affective andcognitive adjustmentsthatpeople needtomake whentheycross
culturesforextendedperiodsof time.We have arguedthatpeople needtomanage stress,deal with
threatsto theiridentities,developnew understandingsof themselves,andhandle social contextsthat
may be more or lesswelcoming.Yetall thisshouldnot,andcannot,be a one-sidedprocess.Integration
requiresmutual involvement –newcomersandhostsbothneedtotake responsibilityforfacilitatingthe
process.