1. Jak narody porozumiewają się ze sobą w komunikacji
międzykulturowej i komunikowaniu medialnym
[Intercultural communication and media communication between nations]
Jerzy Mikułowski Pomorski
Kraków: Universitas, 2007
Selected chapters abridged and summarised by
Intercultural Communication Course students,
English Studies Jagiellonian University
2012/13

2. From cultural meetings to multiculturalism
by Małgorzata Zoń, Anna Widzińska and Karolina Dąbrowska

3. Outline of the presentation
1. Intercultural meeting
2. Etic and emic approach
3. Stranger
4. Third Culture Kids
5. Discussion

4. Intercultural meeting
• Communication between people of different
cultures forms a chain of events which begins
with an individual or a group meeting with a
foreign culture and end with the modification of
personal behaviours. It leads to inter-
culturalness – the creation of a new set of rules
which do not belong to any of the cultures in
question, but to the so-called third culture.

5. • An intercultural meeting is an encounter of people
brought up in different cultures. The people
communicate with one another but have no intention
of participating in their interlocutors‟ cultures. When
people visit foreign countries as guests, they do not
intend to adapt to the local culture. They remain
foreign to it, yet to live in so distinct conditions they
have to try to adjust themselves.

6. Acculturation
• Acculturation - the process of cultural
and psychological change that results from
meeting different cultures
• Acculturation phenomena create a chain
of experience known as the acculturation
curve which consists of the following four
phases:

7. Phases of acculturation
• Phase I Euphoria
• Phase II Culture Shock
• Phase III Acculturation
• Phase IV Stable State or Biculturalism

8. Euphoria
• Phase I Euphoria: or the honey moon;
individuals experience pleasant feelings,
the excitement of travelling to and seeing
new places

9. Culture Shock
• Phase II Culture Shock: individuals experience
a different way of living in the new environment
• The notion of culture shock was introduced by
K. Oberg who defined it as “omnipresent and
negative reactions of depression, frustration and
loss of orientation experienced by people living
in new cultures” 1 .
_________________________________________________________________________________
1 Feraro, G. (1998) The Cultural Dimension of International Business. Prentice Hall: London.

10. Consequences of culture shock according to Gary Feraro1:
– The feeling of nostalgia
– Boredom
– Withdrawal
– Excessive sleep
– Compulsive eating/drinking
– Irritability
– Excessive concern over cleanliness
– Stress
– Stereotyping of the foreign culture
– Hostility towards host nationals
– Psychological disorders
1 op.cit.

11. Stages of culture shock
According to Oberg, the Westerners working in foreign cultures
experience the following stages of culture shock:
• Honeymoon: positive attitudes towards the host country, fascination
with the new culture,
• Irritation and hostility: realisation of cultural differences, lack of
readiness to adjust oneself, the feeling of being in a permanent
crisis
• Gradual adjustment: one grows accustomed to the new culture and
develops routines, one knows what to expect in most situations and
the host country no longer feels new
• Mastery/ Biculturalism: the ability to participate fully and comfortably
in the host culture

12. Acculturation
• Phase III Acculturation: individuals learn
to function in a new cultural environment,
adapt to some of the local values and
customs, become more confident and
develop social relationships.

13. W-curve of acculturation1
1 Hoffenburger, K., Mosier, R., & Stokes, B. (1999) 'Transition experience'. In: J.H. Schuh (ed.)Educational programming and
student learning in college and university residence halls. ACUHO-I: Columbus, OH.

14. Stable State/Biculturalism
• Phase IV Stable state: or biculturalism;
individuals reach a stable state of mind. They may
either (a) remain negative towards a foreign
environment and continue feeling alien; (b) remain
feeling the same as at home and consider oneself
as being bi-culturally adapted; or (c) remain more
positive towards a foreign environment, as
compared to home, and become like „„natives‟‟

15. The stages of adaptation to a new
culture
• Curiosity: when the foreign culture seems attractive due to its
distinctness
• Ethnocentrism: when a foreigner begins to evaluate the
foreign culture from the point of view of their own culture
which seems better and subordinate
• Polycentrism: when a foreigner accepts the worldwide
diversity of values and behaviours, and begins to accept them
• Xenophilia: a belief that the foreign culture is much better
than their native one, it may result in the rejection of the native
culture and acceptance of the new one.

16. Reverse Culture Shock
• Reverse Culture Shock ("Re-entry
Shock", or "own culture shock") may take
place - returning to one's home culture
after growing accustomed to a new one
can produce the same effects as in culture
shock.

17. Etic vs Emic
• Intercultural communication can be viewed from the
perspective of an observer or a participant. The first
approach can be defined as etic, whereas the latter as
emic.
• This terminology was introduced in linguistcs by Pike
and applied to anthropology. It refers to the distinction
between phonetics – universal characteristics of
sounds in a language and phonemics – elements
which have meanings in a given language.

18. The definitions by Fred E. Jandt1:
• Etic – the knowledge learnt by an
outsider/observer. It is theoretical information
about a culture from the point of view of a
researcher, not a member of the culture.
• Emic – the knowledge acquired from the inside
which involves particular norms known to the
members of the culture.
1 Jandt, F. E. (1995) Intercultural Communiaction. An Introduction. Thousand Oaks. p. 405

19. Application of the etic and emic
approach
• Research strategies: etic – we look for general rules of
behaviour, emic – we look for particular group rules.
• Communication attitude in relation to oneself and people
whose attitude towards foreigners is similar or different than
one‟s own.
• Etic approach is frequently used in the theory of
intercultural communication. When people are to evaluate
themselves, them begin to understand that foreigners see
many more characteristics than they have thought.

20. Stranger
• The term „stranger‟ was introduced on a large scale
by George Simmel 1 , who characterises a stranger
and their influence on lives of other people in one of
his articles.
• According to Simmel, the deciding factor is that the
stranger does not share the target culture from its very
beginning nor recognises similar values as important.
1 Simmel, G. (1975) „Obcy‟. In Socjologia [Sociology]. PWN: Warszawa. pp. 504-512.

21. Definition
• „Stranger‟ is a person who, independently of their
intimacy with the target culture, is perceived different by
its members on the basis of everyday communication.
• A stranger usually aims at adapting to the new
surrounding because:
– people have a natural tendency to reorganise their lives in order
to adapt to a new situation,
– adaptation is done through communication,
– adaptation is a complex and dynamic process resulting in the
qualitative transformation of a person.

22. Characteristics
• Mobility – the stranger takes part in various cultures but
is not tied to any which hinders understanding things in
the same way.
Example: a merchant
• Objectivity – lacking the limitations of a particular
culture, the stranger is able to evaluate any society in an
objective way and then adapt to it. Adaptation is easier in
more developed cultures.
Example: a judge or confidant in an Renaissance Italian
towns

23. Antagonism
• Objectivity and distance can result in a lack of trust or a
negative attitude towards the stranger. According to
Znaniecki1, there are two types of antagonism towards
the stranger:
– defensive antagonism – avoiding any contact with a stranger,
– provocative antagonism – coming into contact with a stranger to
impose one‟s own rules on them.
1 Znaniecki, F. (1990) „Studia nad antagonizmem do obcych‟. In: Współczesne narody.
PWN:Warszawa. p. 292.

24. Attitude
• The attitude towards the stranger is often based on the
lack of knowledge about their culture. In such a situation,
the stranger is classified on the basis of any known,
often stereotypical, information.
Example: somebody is mean because he’s a Scott or
loud since he’s a German.
• People perceive strangers from etic and the members of
their culture from emic perspective (the behavior is
interpreted as influenced by a particular situation)

25. Reason for the difference
• The difference in the perception seems to be an effect of
a process in which people predict possible behaviour of
a partner. The process uses data from three levels:
– cultural – behaving in accordance with your culture,
– sociocultural - behaving in accordance with your professional
and social aspirations,
– psychocultural - behaving in accordance with your personal
characteristics.
• Stereotypical thinking is mostly socio- and psychocultural
driven.

26. Contact with a stranger
• Contact with a stranger is often connected with fear:
– of losing one‟s own identity,
– feeling unqualified, insecure and lacking control,
– of negative consequences of any contact with a stranger,
– of being abused or dominated,
– of negative evaluation,
– of group disapproval.
• Fear and distance on the one hand and objectivity on another result
in ambivalent attitude towards the stranger – the stranger is close in
a sense of general characteristics but distant due to stereotypes.

27. Multiculturalism
• The growing number of immigrants results in the changing
perception of a stranger – people are no longer treated from a
distance. They become multicultural thanks to cross-cultural
acculturation.
• Acculturation takes place when:
– a stranger successfully socialised in one culture moves to another one,
– the person is at least minimally dependent on a new surrounding and at
least minimally engaged in the communication with it,
– the person is ready to accept rules and values of a new surrounding

28. Enculturation
• Enculturation allows to unite individuals through the
communication with their surrounding and
developing cognitive, emotional and behavioural
abilities.
• Once the person starts classifying the world with
new culture models thus developing their cultural or
ethnic identity, the process of full adaptation
(acculturation to the new culture and deculturation of
the old one) is almost finished.

29. Cross-cultural adaptation
• Cross-cultural adaptation:
– requires both acculturation and deculturation,
– is often connected with fear and growth of one‟s own
culture,
– leads to cross-cultural transformation of a stranger through
the stress-adaptation-growth process,
– can be observed in the fluctuation in the stress-adaptation-
growth process once the transformation is done,
– can be observed in the growing functional efficiency,
mental health and cross-cultural identity.

30. Third Culture Kids
Third culture kid (TCK) is a term coined in the early 1950s by the
American sociologist and anthropologist Ruth Hill Useem 1 "to refer to the
children who accompany their parents into another society".
Useem spent a year researching expatriates in India. She discovered that
people who came from their home (or first) culture and moved to a host
(or second) culture, had, in reality, formed a culture, or lifestyle, different
from either the first or second cultures. She called this the third culture
and the children who grew up in this lifestyle third culture kids. At that
time, most expatriate families had parents from the same culture and they
often remained in one host culture while overseas.
1 Useem, R. H. (1974) „Third cultural factors in educational change‟. In: Brembeck, C. S. and Hill, W. H.
(eds) Cultural Challenges to Education: The Influence of Cultural Factors in School Learning. Lexington
Books: Lexington.

31. • More recently, American sociologist David C. Pollock1 (2009) developed
the following description for third culture kids:
• A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of
his or her developmental years outside the parents' culture. The TCK
frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full
ownership in any. Although elements from each culture may be assimilated
into the TCK's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to
others of similar background.
• People become familiar with a particular culture by picking up from the
environment certain patterns of behaviour. However, third culture kids
cannot take anything for granted. What is considered to be perfectly normal
in one culture, may be stupid, not acceptable or even forbidden in another.
Thus, TCK constantly asks himself a question: what patterns of behaviour
are correct? Which culture should I choose? Where do I belong?
1Pollock, D.C. and Van Reken, R.E. (2001) Third Culture Kids. The Experience of Growing Up
Among Worlds. Nicolas Breasley Publishing. p.21

32. • Children also learn a culture by observing various
people. First of all, kids observe their parents, they way
they dress, behave, speak, make requests or warnings.
By doing that, kids become familiar with what is
acceptable and what is not. Usually, the society in which
a family lives, strengthens the norms that a child learns
from his parents. However, the situation is different when
a child is being raised in a foreign culture. There is often
the discrepancy between what children learn at home
and what they learn at school, from their teachers,
friends or their nannies. Thus, every third culture kid is
torn between two or more different cultures.

33. Third Culture Kids types
Third culture kids may be divided into four categories:
• FOREIGNER – he looks different and he thinks differently. Third culture kid
does not look and speak the same way as people who surround him, and he
also has a different outlook on life.
• ADAPTED – he looks different but he has adopted the way of thinking of
people that surround him. He feels comfortable in the environment that he lives
in. However, he may be viewed by others as a foreigner.
• A HIDDEN IMMIGRANT – he looks the same but thinks differently. Some of the
third culture kids conform to the traditional standards of appearance but their
way of thinking is similar to their parents‟.
• THE MIRROR – he looks and thinks the same way as people who surround
him. This category applies to children who either come back to their “passport”
country after a short period of time spent in another country, or to children who
left their “passport” country with their parents at a very young age. Such
children strongly and entirely identify with one culture.

34. Stages of relocation
Third culture kid‟s life is filled with high mobility – TCKs know an airport
better than most people. They often relocate to new homes or countries.
Five stages of relocation can be distinguished:
• COMMITMENT – a person is a member of the community. He is familiar with the
customs and traditions of the community and willingly takes part in them. He is
committed to the important issues concerning the society. Community members
know him well and accept his history, background, talents and passions.
• REJECTION – a person realizes that he is not taken into consideration as far as
long term plans of his friends are concerned. It should be justifiable for him as he is
going to leave the country soon. However, the feeling of rejection makes that person
angry and sad, intensifying his conflicts with the community.
• RELOCATION – it is a very chaotic stage. A person must face not only a new
culture, but also new responsibilities and expectations. It is during this stage that the
functioning of a family is disturbed. The chaos results in anxieties about health,
finances, relationships and security. Problems seem to be exaggerated. Parents
have less time for their children which makes their sense of security decrease.

35. • ENTRANCE – life stops being chaotic. A newcomer makes a
decision (consciously or unconsciously) to become a member of the
society. He is afraid of making mistakes and not being accepted by
the rest of the community. Those fears result in the exaggeration of
certain behaviours – shy people become even more shy and self-
contained; self-confident people may become too loud or even
aggressive. During this stage, frequent mood swings occur.
• RECOMMITMENT – a newcomer becomes the member of the
society. He plays a particular role in the community, which makes
him feel accepted and needed.

36. Third Culture Kid’s personality
• Culturally astute, cross-culturally enriched, less prejudiced
and more tolerant towards other religions, customs and views.
They are more welcoming of newcomers into a community.
• Excellent observers of other people. Contact with foreign culture
equipped them with three-dimensional vision of the world. They are
able to describe the world better thanks to their imagination.
• They are called cultural chameleons. They have the ability to
adapt and appear as if they are part of the culture they are in. This
is a defence mechanism third culture kids create to protect
themselves from the pain of rejection.

37. Third Culture Kids’ practical skills
• TCKs establish relationships quickly - they cut through many of the
initial levels of diffidence when forming relationships.
• They are successful as teachers, especially in cross-cultural
communities. They accept difficulties their students may face while
trying to adapt to a new society, and they know how to overcome
them. They easily understand and accept various ways of thinking
and speaking.
• Their capacity to think “outside the box” can offer new and creative
thinking for doing business and living in our globalising world. But
that same thinking can create fear for those who see the world from
a more traditional world view.

38. • Through friendships that cross the usual racial, national, or social
barriers, they have learned the very different ways people can see
life. This offers a great opportunity to become social and cultural
bridges between worlds that traditionally would never connect.
• They are more mature in their social skills. They know how to deal
with problems or difficulties, and are not afraid of being left to their
fate.
• They speak more than one language - often three or four. English
may be the only language they function in, but they can think and
feel in several other languages. Languages offer them a variety of
ways of expressing themselves creatively.

39. The challanges of being a Third Culture Kid
• The elusive concept of: Where are you from? The sense of belonging everywhere
and nowhere.
• Rootlessness and restlessness. The frequent need to change countries and homes.
• Difficulties with commitment to people, places, schools, or school systems as these
constantly change.
• Loss of relationships, loss of community/school = loss of their world.
• Problems with decision-making.
• Feeling different from others. It occurs more often at a university level or when
returning to the "passport" country, where they are misunderstood by their fellow
countrymen.
• Uncertain cultural identity.
• Powerless - a feeling that they have no control over certain things in their lives.

40. So Where's Home? A Film About Third Culture Kid
Identity
http://vimeo.com/41264088

41. Discussion
1. Think about your own staying in a foreign country. Which
stage have you achieved?
2. What are the ways to eliminate stereotypical thinking about
strangers?
3. What are the benefits and drawbacks of being a Third
Culture Kid? What can be done by teachers and parents to
help such children?
4. How can a third culture kid make and maintain friendships
with non-TCKs and TCKs? How these two types of
friendships differ from each other?