In one study, researchers found that racially identified African American students performed significantly lower than African American students who were not asked to identify their race (Elrich 1994). . In another study, women taking a math aptitude test were randomly assigned to three groups. There was also a math test that a group of women took. These women were divided into three different names: women, citizens of the northeast, and students in private schools. Women listed as “private school students” performed better than all other women taking the test. In fact, they also scored higher than men who also took the test (Elrich 1994). There was no difference in the information they were tested on. The crucial difference in all cases was how the candidates identified themselves. So why does saying what race or gender you are make a difference in how you answer questions on a test? The answer lies in societal expectations and a long history of discrimination. So I'm going to talk about the effects of discrimination and oppression on those who have been targeted and think about how we can live above them. Before we define oppression, we must define it in its basic form, which is discrimination. Discrimination has two definitions: one is the recognition and understanding of the difference between one thing and another and the other is the unfair or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things. When we talk about discrimination as a social problem, we usually refer to the distinction between groups in terms of race, gender, religion, social class, etc. This probably dates back to when our ancestors banded together in groups for security and reciprocity.... .. middle of paper .......com. Retrieved December 9, 2013, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/discrimination Elrich, M. (1994). The inner stereotype. Educational Leadership, 51, (8), 12-15. Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). New York: Continuum.Holocaust. (August 12, 2013). Wikipedia. Retrieved December 9, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HolocustLipsky, S. (1987). Internalized oppression. Seattle, WA: Rational Island Publishers.Oppression. (nd). Dictionary.com. Retrieved December 9, 2013 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oppresionSmall, T.A. (2011). WHAT IS HASHTAG? Information, Communication and Society, 14(6), 872-895. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2011.554572Urban dictionary: internalized oppression. (nd). Urban dictionary. Retrieved December 9, 2013 from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=internalized%20oppression