The Role of the Physical Environment in Culture Shock

Abstract

The concept of place attachment is examined within the context of a between-country migration situation, that of immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel. The study hypothesized that place attachment to Israel would be related to the immigrants motive for migrating to Israel and to the perceived differences between their physical environment in the Soviet Union and in Israel, examined on the city, neighborhood, building, and apartment level. An individual, structured interview was conducted with 60 students from the former Soviet Union studying in Israeli universities. Differences between the two countries were perceived for most of the attributes. The USSR was preferred on 22 attributes, Israel on 6. More important than the number of preferences is the direction of preference. Perceiving the new environment to be different does not necessarily mean that the immigrants will not become attached to that environment. If the preference is for the new over the old, then attachment to the new is more likely.