The Negative Psychological Effect of a Victim Mentality

 The Negative Psychological Effect of a Victim Mentality 

Abstract 

A victim mentality is being taught to groups of people everywhere. This is a dangerous situation because it teaches people to take their similarity and allow it to identify them. People may begin to behave in the same way; as a victim, an oppressed individual. Victim mentality can be taught to children by their parents, in educational settings, and by oppression narratives taught through Critical Race Theory. When you instruct a large group of people to act as victims, they will try to fix a problem that may not be there to begin with. 

Keywords: Victim Mentality, Critical Race Theory, Oppression Narrative, Identify, Similarity 

Victim Mentality on the Surface 

The victim mentality is being taught to people of every melatonin level, from every generation, and from every background. It has been taught by parents, teachers, and even doctors; this is the way things are, you are oppressed, unable to help yourself, and it is the fault of others. We should take this question under observation; what happens when every student, every person with black skin, every person with white skin, every person with a certain health issue, and every child believes those things to be true? Some people truly are victims, but we cannot teach everyone who looks like the victim to think like the victim. Not every woman has been raped, so not every woman has the right to act as if they know what it is like. Not every man is a rapist, so it is not fair to shame all men. Not every human with brown skin has been oppressed the way the first slaves were, they do not have the right to act as though they have. Not every person with light skin is a white supremist. Not every child has unjustly received a bad grade from their teacher, so when a child justly receives a bad grade, we cannot blame the teacher for being biased and unfair. Victim mentalities can result in a major dilemma. If all of one group is oppressed, then all another group must become the oppressors of the narrative. This is completely absurd and makes so many insulting assumptions. 

A Parents Role in Teaching Victim Mentality 

Parents play a vital role in molding children into effective members of society. Depending on who raises you, you will have a different paradigm which you view the world through. Having parents that push you to become a better person can mean a successful future. Having parents that look down on you can be devastating to your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, which in turn can mean lack of motivation to, or belief that you cannot, pursue your goals. Amna Nawaz phrases this intelligibly: 

“If the parents underestimate their child’s capabilities, strengths, or potential by doubting his abilities in general or by focusing on what he can’t do instead of what he can, then it can induce a victim mindset in a child and he will also learn to doubt his capabilities and will always expect someone else to rescue him during life’s challenges instead of standing up for himself” (Nawaz, 2021). 

Parents with a victim mindset raise children with a victim mindset, creating a society with a victim mindset. Victim mentality leads to what we call Self-fulfilling Prophecy, in which you speak things into existence. Unsurprisingly, Nawaz states, “if a child learns from his parents’ victim mindset that he can’t handle his hardships then it can add more damage to his life situation” (Nawaz, 2021). Again, I refuse not to acknowledge true victims, but it is not the circumstances that create a victim, but the attitude toward the situation.  

Victim Mentality in Education 

Sanford Danziger talks about a business approach later used in education, that has assisted in proving the negative impact a victim mentality really brings. “Over the past 15 years 150,000 managers and employees have attended a half-day class which helps them recognize and release "victim mentality." The teaching method is based in choice theory, cognitive therapy, and emotional intelligence” (Danziger, 2010). This approach was used in developmental education, and students who eliminated their victim mindset became more confident in their selves and their abilities (Danziger, 2010). Students who have been taught a victim mentality struggle, and this may appear as a lack of motivation, laziness, or blame shifting. All these side effects are negative, but one leads to more harm than the rest. 

Blame shifting happens when someone believes they are the only person who could be in the right. This is extremely stressful in education when it is approximately twenty-one students against one professor. If each person in the class believes that they are oppressed, and that every educator is an oppressor, the teacher is going to have an exceedingly grim time when they may only be trying to hand out fair grades. Danziger says that after this approach was put into practice, students began to look at their selves in a brand-new light; “I can see that I am responsible for my own learning; I can't play the victim and blame my poor grades on the teacher or the books or my family life’ (Danziger, 2010). 

Critical Race Theory and Victim Mentality 

Critical Race Theory was proposed in the 1970s and 80s. “CRT holds that racism was not and has never been eradicated from our laws, policies, or institutions, and is still woven into the fabric of their existence” (Legal Defense Fund, 2022). In addition, Critical Race Theory teaches “white supremacy, male privilege, white privilege, equity, unconscious or implicit bias systemic racism” (Legal Defense Fund, 2022). Each of these teaches that all in a singular group are oppressors, but this is simply not the case. No two people are alike. There is much racial prejudice that is taught through Critical Race theory, but not much movement is happening through it. This prejudice usually views people with white skin as the enemy against Critical Race Theory, but it is not people with black skin that they are against, but a collective assumption being made about them. CRT is teaching young Americans who just happen to have black skin, that they are oppressed, and that the system is against them. It says you are black, and that makes you lesser in this society. It teaches those who believe it, that people with less melatonin are against them but gives them nothing to do about it. It seems like a very counter-progressive thing to be taught if we are trying to progress. Fighting a problem that is solved. It says that there are things that people with black skin cannot do. That seems more discouraging than productive. The Legal Defense Fund argues that “Laws banning racial justice discourse are attacks on all students’ right to a fair, full, and truthful education about their country and their communities (Legal Defense Fund, 2022), but this tells them that they do not already have a fair, full, and truthful education. All Americans are taught the same things, they all attend the same public schools, and there is no reason a person with pale skin is any better or more capable than a person with brown skin. It is a disservice to tell people this, and quite insulting and discouraging as well. Aside from all these things, CRT can cause segregation between groups who may hold a grudge against one another, another negative effect of allowing an entire group of people to think with a victim mindset. GerDonna J. Ellis has a unique way of stating this; “oppressed peoples experience oppression differently and at varying levels depending on the identities they hold. In other words, the more disadvantaged identities that a person embodies, the more oppression they are likely to experience” (Ellis, 2020). It is not so much whether you are a victim or not, but what you choose to do about it. Do you act, or do you sulk in self-pity and complain about others’ actions? There is a time and a place for that, but when people begin to think like that, reality can become like that. 

Victim Mentality Bone Deep 

Victim mindsets exist in most every culture and setting. Children have learned it from their parents, students from their teachers, and it is taught through Critical Race Theory within the public school system. Victim mentality is just that; a mentality. And when we take a step back and look at what we can do about feeling incapable, we become capable. We believe in ourselves and have faith in our abilities. Even if we have been labeled as victims, oppressed, and sufferers; even if we are victims, have been oppressed, and are sufferers, when we put those labels aside, we become more confident in what we can do. We become more confident in ourselves. 

References 

Danziger, S. (2010). The Educational Benefits of Releasing "Victim Mentality": An Approach from the Fields of Business and Psychology. Journal of Developmental Education, 34(2), 43-44. http://proxy154.nclive.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/educational-benefits-releasing-victim-mentality/docview/1268718602/se-2 In this article, Sanford Danziger explores the positive aspects of removing a victim mentality from one's life. Danziger discusses a training strategy used in business and education settings, and how this has improved the lives of those who practiced it. Danziger explains how a victim mentality stunts personal growth, and how removing this from your mindset can benefit you. This well-researched article brings clarity to what is implied by the phrase "victim mentality."  

Ellis, G. (2020). CRITICAL RACE THEORY AND THE IMPACT OF OPPRESSION NARRATIVES ON THE IDENTITY, RESILIENCE, AND WELLNESS OF STUDENTS OF COLOR. https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2811&context=td. In her article, GerDonna J. Ellis overviews the oppression narrative taught by Critical Race Theory. She lists the many ways people with black skin have overcome the stereotype of oppression and incapability. Making a striking argument after telling the stories of eight students of color who attended a majorly Caucasian school and sharing the ways they have shattered the Critical Race Theory narrative. Ellis’s paper makes some serious points against Critical Race Theory, and the oppression narrative being taught to young people of color. 

Legal Defense Fund. (2022). Critical Race Theory. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. https://www.naacpldf.org/critical-race-theory-faq/. The Legal Defense Fund’s article talks about what Critical Race Theory is and perfectly defines what Critical Race Theory is. This article makes arguments about preventing the ban of CRT in public schools and argues that race is built into the American system and will always be there. Claiming that racism is built into the foundations of the United States government. The Legal Defense Fund claims that classrooms are trying to ban the voices of black people by denying Critical Race Theory, and by trying to censor conversations related to racism. 

Nawaz, A. (2021, October 27). How to Save Your Child from Victim Mentality? | Willing Ways. Willing Ways. https://www.willingways.org/how-to-save-your-child-from-victim-mentality-how-to-save-your-child-from-victim-mentality/. Amna Nawaz writes about four ways children can take up a victim mentality through their parent’s behavior. She discusses negative phrases, pity, underestimation, and not letting the child struggle. In addition to these causes, she gives eight ways parents can use to reverse these negative effects. This insightful read is helpful for parents struggling to cure the oppression mindset their children may have acquired along the way and grants thoughtful advice to encourage productivity.