Improving the global experiences of sojourners through positive psychology

interventions (PPIs) and culture shock reduction

Throughout the literature, a sojourner is described as an individual who is
temporarily living outside of his or her home culture in order to complete an
overseas assignment or a study abroad course (Church, 1982). In this paper, the
term sojourner will refer to individuals who will experience cross-cultural
interactions by living or studying in a host culture or foreign country for more
than 6 months. Being a sojourner does not come uneventful most of the time.
When a sojourner lives in a host culture he or she can experience cultural shock
(Oberg, 1960) and go through sojourner adjustment (Church, 1982) during the
adaptation process to the host culture. Culture shock is defined as the series of
stresses that the sojourner encounters in the host cultures when interacting with
individuals in unfamiliar environments and using unfamiliar sings or symbols
(Oberg, 1954; Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001). Ibrahim (1985) emphasizes
that the most fundamental concern that people have is existential isolation.
According to him, the awareness of separateness can create anxiety; therefore,
isolation can be a very detrimental outcome of culture shock. To limit the
anxiety and isolation that culture shock can produce on sojourners, individuals
need to acquire the necessary tools to be more successfully adapt to the host
culture. Therefore, it is important to adequately provide sojourners with the
necessary skills to identify the tools that they will require to efficiently manage
the level of culture shock they experience during their time overseas.

One way to manage level of culture shock in a sojourner is by supporting

the well-being of sojourners during their time overseas. The literature
demonstrates that a hopeful approach to increasing an individuals well-being is
through the application of positive psychology interventions 1 (PPIs) (Sin &
Lyubomirsky, 2009). PPIs aim to build strengths in individuals and provide
them with tools to manage anxiety or depression at different stages of their life
(Bao & Lyumbomirsky, 2014); therefore, PPIs can lead to an increase in the
level of their wellbeing during the time an individual is overseas.
One of the most accessible populations of sojourners, who will undergo a
6 month or longer resident period in a host country are international students.
International students studying abroad will experience culture shock while
undertaking courses overseas, and due to the demands for adaptation of the host
culture and university requirements can experience higher levels of isolation,
anxiety, and depression while they are going through the culture shock of their
study abroad experience. Therefore, deeper insights/understanding on the effects
of PPIs on international students wellbeing are necessary as they would greatly
enrich students experiences and study abroad programs. Some research
questions that can be explored in this area are:
1) Does the application of PPIs aid international students with their
psychological and socio-cultural adjustment during cross-cultural
1 Some PPI strategies involve: writing gratitude letters, optimistic thinking, replaying positive experiences,
strength-based positive interventions, and mindfulness among others (e.g., Fordyce, 1977; Lyubomirsky,
Dickerhoof, Boehm, & Sheldon, 2008; Ruini, Belaise, Brombin, Caffo, & Fava, 2006; Sin & Lyubomirsky,
2009)

transitions?
2) Are some PPIs more efficient than others?
3) Do individual differences affect the outcome of PPIs in international
students?
4) Do PPIs affect an international students academic performance along
with their well-being?
5) If international students benefit from PPIs, are these effects long lasting?
Do they continue to show once they student has return home?

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