What is CULTURE?

Short Answer: The process of learning to be comfortable in a new culture while maintaining one’s own cultural identity.

A little bit more on Acculturation:

Moving into a different culture is rarely smooth. Researchers have studied this process, called acculturation, for more than a century. The term first appeared in the 1880s, and in 1936 anthropologists defined it as the changes that occur when groups with different cultures come into continuous, firsthand contact (Redfield et al., 1936, as cited in Spicer, 2018). Early work largely examined other cultures through a Western lens, a bias some critics still point out. Today the focus has shifted toward individuals, such as immigrants, international students, and missionaries.

Most people move through recognizable phases of acculturation: an initial honeymoon period, followed by doubt, criticism, and resentment, and finally adjustment and real integration (Bradbury, 2017). The stress along the way, called acculturative stress, becomes severe when someone perceives their new situation as a threat to their well-being (Arnold, 2023).

People respond differently to acculturation. Some withdraw into their own bubble, which can lead to self-marginalization. Others collaborate with the new culture while maintaining their own identity. Another group may integrate so much that they lose their own cultural identity (Ataca & Berry, 2018). Successful adaptation means feeling at ease in the new setting while switching comfortably between cultures.

Three insights stand out. First, the whole family is affected. While family members often struggle to find their own purpose in the new country, they may connect more easily with locals at shops, playgrounds, and schools, gaining cultural insight (Arnold, 2023; Ataca & Berry, 2023). Second, practical stressors like organizing food, services, or even a driver's license can be hard when one does not yet speak the language. Third, societal stressors, from feeling like an outsider to open discrimination, add further weight to the adaptation process (Arbona et al., 2010).

Acculturation is multifaceted, and every person experiences it differently. Leaders and mentors do best when they treat each situation on its own terms rather than applying one template (Ataca & Berry, 2023).

We talk about multiculturalism when we talk about a group of people that consists of multiple different cultures. That can be a team, a friend group, or an organization. The key here is that the members are from different cultures, working and living together as best they can.

We talk about interculturalism when we consider relationships. In an intercultural setting, the main focus is to make the relationship work, with an emphasis on interconnectedness. While multicultural teams can simply exist, intercultural relationships are intentionally built.

We refer to Cross-Cultural when one person, a group of people, or a topic connects with another culture. Whereas multicultural teams are often just a given, and intercultural relationships are built intentionally, this phenomenon simply reflects a reaction across cultures.

Short Answer: The ability to adapt, communicate, and work effectively across diverse cultural contexts.

Longer Answer: (Yet to come)

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