Oberg (1960, 1979), for instance, describes four stages: (a) a 20 THE BACKGROUND “honeymoon” stage characterized by fascination, elation, and optimism; (b) a stage of hostility and emotionally stereotyped attitudes toward the host society and increased association with fellow sojourners; (c) a recovery stage characterized by increased language knowledge and ability to get around in the new cultural environment; and (d) a final stage in which adjustment is about as complete as possible, anxiety is largely gone, and new customs are accepted and enjoyed.
Closely related to efforts to identify adaptation stages has been work aimed at tracing adaptive changes over time. Focusing on the degree of satisfaction in or positive attitude toward the host society as a frequent indicator of adaptation, some investigators have gathered evidence for what is commonly called the “U-curve hypothesis” (e.g., Brein & David, 1971; Church, 1982; Furnham, 1988). According to this hypothesis, sojourners typically begin their cross-cultural adaptation process with optimism and elation in the host culture, followed by a subsequent dip or “trough” in satisfaction and a recovery. The U-curve hypothesis has been further extended to a “W-curve,” which adds the reentry (or return-home) phase during which the sojourner once again goes through a similar process (Brein & David, 1971; Gullahorn & Gullahorn, 1963; Trifonovitch, 1977). Research findings on the U-curve process have been mixed. In a study of groups of Swedes who had returned from sojourns in foreign countries, Torbiorn (1982) found that the subjects’ satisfaction levels followed a pattern similar to the U-curve. After the sojourners had spent about 6 months in the host country, their satisfaction was significantly lower than it had been at arrival. Toward the end of that year, their satisfaction slowly started to increase