What term describes the difficulty in understanding another culture's norms and behaviors?

• A. Culture shock
• B. Stereotype
• C. Prejudice
• D. Ethnocentrism

Answer: (A)

Culture shock describes the experience of feeling unsure how to interpret and respond to norms and behaviors in another culture. When you’re immersed in a setting with different rules for greetings, personal space, or social roles, those unfamiliar cues can feel disorienting and provoke frustration or anxiety. Over time, you learn the new norms and adjust your behavior, which leads to greater comfort and understanding. This is different from stereotype, prejudice, or ethnocentrism, which are about beliefs or attitudes toward groups rather than the process of adjusting to new cultural norms. A stereotype is an oversimplified belief about a group; prejudice is a biased attitude; ethnocentrism is judging other cultures by the standards of your own.