Question

What do you understand by “culture shock?” Explain the implications of ethnocentrism and cultural imperialism.

Answer 1

Culture shock is a term given to the phenomena to describe the experience of an individual who is exposed to aspects of a unfamiliar culture while travelling or immigration to a different country. Intially, this exposure to unfamiliarity creates an attraction or fascination towards the differences in cultural aspects, slowly this fascination is replaced with frustration as the individual begins to miss their culture. Gradually after the phase of frustration individual accepts the unfamiliarity and differences of the other culture by modelling in their own way of adaptation to the aspects of new culture.

Implications of ethnocentrism.

Ethnicentrism is comparing or measuring other cultures through the lens of one's own culture. The implications of ethnocentrism are as following:

Positive implications.

• Ethnocentrism encourages social solidarity within groups.
• It encourages social cooperation and collaboration within groups.
• Creates sense of belongingness among the members of the culture.
• Facilitates community tasks among the members within the group.

Negative implications.

• Creates negative stereotypes and prejudices towards other culture or groups.
• Creates conflicts and tensions among the groups or cultures of a society or a nation.
• Hampers the progress and development of the society or the nation.
• Leads to discrimination and disunity among the various cultures or groups in a society or a nation.

Cultural imperialism

Cultural imperialism means dominance of stronger culture over the weaker culture of a society or a nation. The implications of cultural imperialism are as following:

• Cultural imperialism leads to stratification of society that hampers the progress and development of the society or the nation as whole.
• Cultural imperialism causes oppression of weaker culture by the stronger culture.
• It creates tension and rift between the stronger and weaker cultures.
• This tension creates uncertainties in conflicts in the society.