4.3 Responding to Culture Shock

LO 4.3: Compare culture shock, ethnocentrism, and cultural relativism.

The culture of groups varies. Diverse groups create unique music and art, hold different religious beliefs, and raise children in distinct ways. Norms, however, also vary for biological processes, like what can be used for food, rituals around death and childbirth, and processes related to using the bathroom.   

There are many norms related to bathroom-use. In the United States, it is the norm to place toilet paper in the toilet bowl, while other items (menstruation products) go in the trash. However, outside the United States, the norm may be to place toilet paper and menstruation products in the trash bin rather than the toilet. When a person happens upon different bathroom norms, they may experience culture shock. Culture shock is a feeling of disorientation about contrasting social norms when their taken-for-granted understanding of how the world works is challenged. This feeling of disorientation may lead to ethnocentrism or cultural relativism (see Figure 4.4).