TAPIA, SHARLENE R.

2011-49125

CONCEPT PAPER
ENG 2

Internalized oppression: A form of learned helplessness

I heard a story about how elephants are domesticated to work for humans. They are said
to be trained at a very young age not to fight back and just follow orders. They are tied with a
heavy rope which they cannot break. It may try to bite the rope at first in order to break free, but
after failing several times, up to its tipping point, it will believe that it is impossible to change the
current situation. With this in mind, the elephant will stop trying to break free and just give up.
The elephant was exposed to a situation in which it learned that it has no control. It experienced
learned helplessness. Internalized oppression is a form of learned helplessness caused by
rationalizing and accepting human inferiority of one group over another. Human oppression, of
all kinds and forms, has always been and will always be a human rights violation. Understanding
the meaning of internalized oppression can help us, not only as individuals but also as citizens of
the world, put a stop to it.
Internalized oppression is a form of learned helplessness. Learned helplessness,
according to the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, is a term coined by Martin
Seligman and Steven Maier (1967) in describing the helpless behavior exhibited by animals who
experienced inescapable electric shocks. The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology states that the
studies conducted by Martin Seligman and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania
found out that human motivation in initiating responses is affected by the lack of control over the
situation.

Learned helpless caused by years of societal oppression leads to internalized oppression.

Internalized oppression is the embedding of inferiority in the minds of one group over another.
The embeddedness of internalized oppression is manifested not only as an internal,
psychological aspect, but also as a sociocultural phenomenon.
According to David (2013), oppression is a process and condition where a group denies
the rights, dignity, and worth of another group. The years of restriction to resource access and
instillation of fear and sense of inferiority causes the repressed group to believe that they have
lack of control over the situation. When their feeling of inferiority causes them to believe that
breaking free from this system is futile and just accepting the superiority of the dominant group
is the solution to their problem, then they have internalized oppression.
Tappan (2006) states that internalized oppression as a sociocultural phenomenon is a
form mediated action which entails two central elements: an agent, and cultural tools. The agent
is the one doing the action, while the cultural tools are the means from the culture used by the
agent in order to accomplish the action. In other words, internalized oppression, as a
sociocultural phenomenon, happens because a group uses cultural means to dominate a certain
group.
Going back to the tale of the elephant, the psychological aspect of learned helplessness in
the form of internalized oppression can be seen when the elephant stopped trying to break free.
The two central elements of internalized oppression as a sociocultural phenomenon in the story
are also evident: the trainer, which is the actor, and the rope, which is the means.
In a grander scale, it is important to analyze how the current stratification system (who
dominates who) in our world causes internalized oppression, its implications now and in the

future. By understanding the causes, process, and implications of internalized oppression,

problems directly linked to it can be solved.
References

David, E. R. (2013). Brown Skin, White Minds : Filipino-American Postcolonial Psychology

(with Commentaries) = Kayumanggi Balat, Puti Isip. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.

"Learned Helplessness." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 2008.

Retrieved February 27, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3045301319.html

"Learned Helplessness." Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology. 2001.

Retrieved February 27, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406000382.html

Tappan, M. B. (2006). Reframing Internalized Oppression and Internalized Domination: From

the Psychological to the Sociocultural. Teachers College Record, 108(10), 2115-2144.