While learning about the internalised conditioning mentioned in my last blog, I came upon an excellent article by the fantastic Marya Axner, that gave me some insight into this topic. In her article on internalised conditioning she cites two research studies undertaken in the United States, that highlight the negative academic effects that this can have. She first points to a study in which three groups of women were randomly selected to take a mathematics competency exam. Those who were instructed to identify as students at a renowned private university outperformed their male counterparts whereas the participants who were asked to identify themselves by their gender underperformed. The second study that she highlights, found that pupils performed worse than the national average for their race, ethnicity or gender. Improvement was only seen when the students were explicitly told that who they were does not define their abilities. In both studies, researchers found a measurable difference in outcomes according to how the test participants saw themselves. 

These examples show that participants’ performance was influenced by beliefs or stereotypes about their race and gender. Thus societal beliefs and a prolonged history of prejudice can have a real, measurable impact on performance. People who are constantly discriminated against or oppressed are more likely to internalise (believe and incorporate into their self-image) the stereotypical image that society holds about their demographic. After hearing these things since their childhood, people understandably internalise that they are less worthy, less capable, or less intellectual because they are members of a certain group and begin to believe society’s preconceptions about people like them.

I cannot think of a better way to explain it than Marya Axner’s description of how two ways of internalised oppression works: 

“Internalized oppression operates on an individual basis. A person believes that the stereotypes and misinformation that she hears are true about herself. She holds herself back from living life to her full potential or she acts in ways that reinforce the stereotypes and are ultimately self-defeating.
Internalized oppression occurs among members of the same cultural group. People in the same group believe (often unconsciously) the misinformation and stereotypes that society communicates about other members of their group. People turn the oppression on one another, instead of addressing larger problems in society. The results are that people treat one another in ways that are less than fully respectful. Often people from the same cultural group hurt, undermine, criticize, mistrust, fight with, or isolate themselves from one another.”

~Marya Axner

She goes on to give some great practical examples, including one that I could relate to:

“Women, low-income people, and people of colour don’t speak up as much in meetings because they don’t think their contribution will be important or ‘correct’. Often participants from these groups may have insight into how to solve a problem, but they hold back from sharing it.”

~Marya Axner

I have experienced this first-hand during my fledgling research career; I recall a time (pre-covid!) where a friend and I were at a conference. She and I were advised to go and talk with some of the conference speakers who we might be interested in collaborating with in the future. We saw a Professor who is a renowned figure in our field, who was speaking with a small group of other conference attendees. Neither of us had the courage to approach him to begin discussing our work. We later admitted to each other that we had not spoken with him because we did not feel like our contributions were big enough to hold his interest. In other words; our internalised conditioning was telling us both that we were not on the same level as this Professor and that caused us both to miss what could have been a great opportunity. Apart from this experience, being in a foreign academic environment, there have been a few times that I have felt it is not my place to speak up in a group setting, or ask questions because I have felt that my input will not be as valued, and felt that my European colleagues are ahead of me because I am a newcomer to their academic system. Coming from an African academic background we are conditioned to think that the European system is somehow ahead of ours, and this contributes to the feeling of being an imposter. I would strongly advise anyone else in my position to ignore that little voice of doubt and remember that you are just as valuable as anyone else, and your contributions are just as worthwhile.

It is important to remember that those who are subjected to internalised oppression or conditioning are not to blame. No one should be held responsible or condemned for being subjected to oppression. However, as members of the community, we must try to overcome these obstacles in order to attain our objectives.

Can you identify any personal experiences that you think might have been caused by your own internalised conditioning?

Could our society be facing these forms of internalised oppression at the community and individual levels?