Culture Shock

Culture Shock

• If you were visiting and studying the Yanomamo, describe what you would have done to prepare yourself for possible culture shock. • Describe a personal experience you have had where you experienced culture shock. What components of culture were you shocked by? • Explain how understanding the major components of culture are important in a situation such as the one you or Napoleon Chagnon experienced.

To prepare myself for the possibility of culture shock, I would have done extensive research on the Yanomamo people. I would have learned as much as I could about their culture, the type of society they live in, how they live day-to-day, the way they dress, what they eat, how they speak, etc. Knowing all this before entering their society would help to alleviate culture shock upon arrival. Learning the major components of their culture would help prepare for the changes I would see and how differently they live from me. It is important to learn and understand the components of a people’s culture because it gives you a better understanding of how they live. It helps to give you a sense of how to act when among the people in the unfamiliar culture so you do not scare them or give them feeling of culture shock. It helps to keep you from feeling scared or shocked by the people’s culture. I have not been in a situation where I have felt culture shock. This is due to the fact that I have never traveled to any other state or country. I have seen many documentaries on the cultures of Aborigines in Australia, Africans in Africa, Chinese, Japanese, etc. But I cannot recall ever being shocked by the way they live. I understand that not everyone lives in the same culture I do and do not act the way I do.