Understanding the Shock in 'Culture Shock.'

"Culture shock" is the expression generally associated with the frustrations that occur when persons have difficulty functioning in a different culture or when persons are exposed to individuals from another culture. Culture shock typically occurs in a 4-stage process that can unfold over varying lengths of time: the honeymoon, crisis, resolution, and stabilization. The honeymoon stage exists during the initial intrigue with a place; the crisis stage occurs when an event or situation becomes a significant obstacle; the resolution stage begins when a means for dealing with the obstacle encountered begins to be developed; and the stabilization stage occurs when the earlier confusion has been resolved and a balanced outlook is achieved. For one instructor who experienced culture shock while teaching in China, an incident with his students and plagiarized materials taught him that plagiarizing research documents is not considered a serious offense in China--he used the incident to explain to his students that writing research papers was done a bit differently in the United States. The key to dealing successfully with culture shock rests with being able to recognize the stages of culture shock as they are being experienced. Once the shock in "culture shock" is understood, it can be changed from a frustrating experience to a learning experience. (NKA)