spirituality – LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Parapsychology and Quantum Physics may often be discussed together:

Parapsychology and Quantum Physics may often be discussed together because both raise questions about the nature of observation, consciousness, information, and reality, but the connection could be speculative than established.

What quantum physics actually establishes

Quantum mechanics describes matter and energy at microscopic scales. Some of its well established features may be:

Superposition: quantum systems may be described as combinations of possible states.

Entanglement: separated quantum systems may exhibit correlations that may not be explained by simple classical local variables.

Measurement: measurement affects the quantum state being measured.

Quantum indeterminacy: some individual outcomes are fundamentally probabilistic.

Nonlocal correlations: entangled particles may display correlations across distance, although this may not allow ordinary faster than light communication.

Some of these findings may demonstrate telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, or survival of consciousness after death.

Where parapsychology enters

Parapsychology investigates purported anomalous phenomena such as:

ESP

telepathy

clairvoyance

precognition

Psychokinesis (PK)

influence of physical systems by intention

Survival related phenomena

near death experiences

apparitions

mediumship

terminal lucidity

reincarnation type memories

The interesting question is whether some of these phenomena could eventually require a non-classical theory of information or consciousness.

That is a legitimate research question, but it remains an open question depends who you ask?

The “quantum consciousness” idea

A common hypothesis may be:

Consciousness may have properties that may not be completely explained by classical neuroscience and might involve quantum processes.

There are several very different versions of this idea.

Some theories concern quantum processes inside the mind. Others go much further and propose that consciousness is somehow fundamental to reality itself.

The latter connects with philosophical positions such as:

panpsychism

dual aspect monism

idealism

information based theories of consciousness

But these philosophical possibilities may not be confused with experimentally established quantum physics.

The measurement problem may be particularly interesting

Quantum mechanics raises a profound question:

What exactly constitutes a measurement?

Some interpretations historically encouraged the idea that conscious observation causes quantum collapse.

However, modern physics may not require a conscious human observer for quantum measurement/decoherence. A physical interaction with an environment or measuring apparatus may produce the relevant effects.

So:

“Observation” in quantum physics vs necessarily “a human mind looking at something.”

That could be a distinction when evaluating parapsychological claims.

Could quantum physics explain psi?

There are several possibilities one could investigate scientifically:

Hypothesis

Current status

Psi is entirely classical

Possible

Psi involves unknown biological mechanisms

Possible

Psi involves quantum processes in the mind

Speculative

Psi involves quantum information outside the mind

Highly speculative

Consciousness is a fundamental property of reality

Philosophically serious, scientifically unresolved

Quantum entanglement explains telepathy

some established evidence

Quantum physics proves ESP

some established evidence

Quantum physics proves survival after death

some established evidence

A particularly interesting distinction

There could be three different questions that frequently get mixed together:

A. Quantum biology:

Do quantum phenomena play important roles in living organisms?

B. Quantum consciousness:

Are quantum processes necessary for explaining consciousness?

C. Quantum parapsychology:

Could quantum processes help explain anomalous information transfer or mind matter interactions?

A has substantial scientific evidence.

B is actively debated.

C remains highly speculative and controversial.

Where parapsychology gets especially interesting

From a parapsychological perspective, the deepest question may not be necessarily:

“Is ESP caused by quantum mechanics?”

It may instead be:

“Does consciousness have properties that our current physical theories may not adequately describe?”

That may be a much more scientifically defensible question.

For example, if exceptionally well controlled experiments eventually demonstrated reliable information transfer without conventional sensory channels, physicists would have to determine what physical mechanism could account for it. Quantum theory might become relevant but it may not automatically be the explanation.

A useful conceptual model

You may think of the relationship this way:

Quantum physics…provides a radically non-classical picture of physical reality

Consciousness research…asks how subjective experience arises

Parapsychology…investigates claims that consciousness may sometimes obtain information or influence events beyond conventional sensory/motor pathways

Quantum parapsychology…asks whether quantum principles could provide part of the missing theoretical framework?

That last step is a hypothesis, may be or may not be a demonstrated fact.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology; Mind to Mind Communication:

Mind to Mind Communication may generally refer to the idea that information may be transmitted from one person’s mind to another without relying on ordinary sensory channels such as speech, writing, gestures, or electronic communication.

It may mean different things depending on the framework:

Ordinary psychological communication

People continuously infer each other’s thoughts and emotions through facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, context, and learned patterns. This may feel almost instantaneous, but it still involves sensory information.

Telepathy

In parapsychology, mind to mind communication may often be used as another way of describing telepathy: the purported transfer of thoughts, images, emotions, or other information between people without known sensory mediation.

Empathic or intuitive communication

Someone may accurately sense another person’s emotional state without consciously knowing how they obtained the information. Psychology may explain many such experiences through unconscious perception, pattern recognition, emotional attunement, and inference. A parapsychological interpretation might consider psi as an alternative hypothesis when ordinary explanations appear insufficient.

Altered states and hypnosis

Hypnosis, meditation, dreaming, ganzfeld procedures, and other altered states may have been investigated in relation to unusual forms of interpersonal information transfer. These areas may particularly be interesting to parapsychology because they may reduce ordinary sensory distractions.

The key distinction

A useful conceptual distinction may be:

Communication…information is exchanged through an identifiable channel. Telepathy…information appears to be exchanged without an identifiable sensory channel.

For example:

Person A thinks intensely about a particular image. Person B, isolated from Person A and unable to obtain the information normally, reports the same or substantially similar image.

That would constitute a telepathy hypothesis, not automatically proof of telepathy. A rigorous investigation would need to exclude coincidence, sensory leakage, prior knowledge, cueing, selective reporting, and other conventional explanations.

In parapsychology

Mind to mind communication may be closely related to the concepts of:

Telepathy…ESP…psi…anomalous information transfer

It may be useful to distinguish telepathy from psychokinesis (PK):

Telepathy: purported mind…mind information transfer

Clairvoyance: purported information about an object/event without ordinary sensory access

Precognition: purported information about a future event

Psychokinesis: purported mind…physical system influence

One of the longstanding questions in parapsychology is whether these phenomena represent different abilities or different manifestations of a more fundamental psi process.

Importantly, mainstream science may not or does not want to established telepathy as a demonstrated mechanism of human communication. Parapsychological research continues to investigate anomalous information transfer, while conventional psychology emphasizes known mechanisms of perception, inference, memory, social cognition, and coincidence.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology; A Paranormal Hypothesis; is a proposed explanation for an unusual or anomalous experience:

A Paranormal Hypothesis is a proposed explanation for an unusual or anomalous experience that suggests the phenomenon may involve processes not adequately explained by currently accepted scientific models.

In simple terms:

“Something unusual happened. Could there be an explanation beyond ordinary physical or psychological mechanisms?”

Examples

A paranormal hypothesis might propose that:

Telepathy: information was transferred between minds without known sensory communication.
Precognition: information about a future event was obtained before the event occurred.
Psychokinesis (PK): mental activity influenced a physical system without ordinary physical interaction.
Apparition: an apparently deceased person was perceived in a way that might involve something beyond memory, hallucination, or expectation.
Remote viewing: a person obtained information about a distant target without ordinary sensory access.
Survival of consciousness: some aspect of consciousness continues after biological death.
Non-human intelligence: an anomalous experience may involve an intelligence not readily attributable to ordinary human activity.

Paranormal hypothesis vs. Paranormal belief

This distinction is important:

Paranormal belief:

“Ghosts are real.”

Paranormal Hypothesis:

“Some reports of apparitions may be produced by a mechanism that may not currently be explained by conventional psychological or physical models.”

The second is testable in principle and therefore more useful scientifically.

A good paranormal hypothesis may have several characteristics

Clearly defined phenomenon: What exactly happened?

Alternative explanations considered: Could perception, memory, coincidence, fraud, suggestion, sleep phenomena, “neurological factors: consult with a Neurologist”, or environmental causes explain it?

Specific prediction: What would we expect to observe if the paranormal explanation were correct?

Falsifiability: What result would count against the hypothesis?

Replication: Can independent investigators obtain similar results?

Controls: Can sensory leakage, experimenter effects, statistical artifacts, and selection bias be minimized?

Proportional conclusions: Evidence for an anomaly may not automatically establish a particular paranormal mechanism.

In parapsychology

A particularly useful framework may be:

Observation…Anomaly…Hypothesis…Experiment…Replication…Interpretation

For example:

Observation: A participant appears to identify information about a distant target above chance.

Conventional hypotheses: cueing, sensory leakage, statistical artifact, recording error, unconscious inference, etc.

Paranormal hypothesis: information was acquired through a psi process.

Test: preregistered, blinded, controlled trials.

Result: determine whether the anomalous effect persists under increasingly stringent controls.

This approach allows someone to take paranormal experiences seriously without automatically assuming that the paranormal interpretation is correct.

An important distinction

“Unexplained” vs “Paranormal.”

An experience may be genuinely unexplained while the ultimate explanation remains unknown. A paranormal hypothesis becomes scientifically interesting when it makes predictions that distinguish it from ordinary explanations.

This distinction may be especially useful: you may investigate an anomalous experience phenomenologically while maintaining separate hypotheses for psychological, “Medical/Neurological: please, consult with a Neurologist”, environmental, conventional physical, and genuinely psi/paranormal explanations.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology; Supernatural Threats may refer to perceived dangers attributed to Unknown Phenomena:

Supernatural threats may refer to perceived dangers attributed to forces, beings, or phenomena that are believed to exist outside ordinary physical or scientific explanations.

Examples might include:

Entities or beings: ghosts, spirits, demons, angels, extraterrestrials, or other alleged non-human intelligences.

Paranormal phenomena: perceived attacks, apparitions, unexplained physical events, poltergeist activity, or alleged psychic interference.

Curses or supernatural influence: beliefs that a person, object, ritual, or location may cause harm through non-ordinary forces.

Possession or spiritual attack: interpretations in which an external entity is believed to influence thoughts, emotions, behavior, or bodily experiences.

Occult threats: fears associated with magic, rituals, witchcraft, or perceived occult practices.

Environmental or location based phenomena: places believed to be haunted or associated with unusual experiences.

Three ways to understand them

1. Paranormal interpretation: Within parapsychology or spiritual traditions, a person may interpret an unusual experience as evidence of an external intelligence, psi phenomenon, spirit, or other non-ordinary reality. These interpretations remain controversial and scientifically unestablished.

2. Psychological interpretation: Experiences perceived as supernatural may sometimes arise from sleep paralysis, trauma, dissociation, hypervigilance, expectation, suggestion, perceptual errors, substance effects, or culturally shaped beliefs. Importantly, explaining a possible psychological mechanism may not necessarily mean the person’s experience was fabricated.

3. Social/cultural interpretation: What constitutes a “supernatural threat” varies considerably among cultures. The same experience might be interpreted as a ghost in one culture, a spirit or ancestor in another, or a neurological/sleep phenomenon in another.

A useful distinction

Experience vs interpretation vs explanation.

For example:

Experience: I felt that something was watching me.

Interpretation: A supernatural entity was watching me.

”Explanation: Could involve environmental factors, psychology, sleep phenomena, a cultural framework, or if one adopts a paranormal hypothesis an anomalous phenomenon.

That distinction allows someone to take the person’s experience seriously without prematurely deciding what caused it.

In a clinical setting, the safest approach may be to assess immediate safety and functioning first, while remaining respectful and non-dismissive about the person’s interpretation.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology; People with Supernatural Powers may mean several different things:

People with supernatural powers may mean several different things, depending on whether you mean religious traditions, paranormal claims, or scientifically established abilities.

1. People traditionally believed to have supernatural powers

Across cultures, certain individuals have been described as having abilities beyond ordinary human capacities:

Prophets: receiving divine revelations or foreknowledge.

Mystics: reporting direct experiences of God, spirits, or transcendent realities.

Shamans: traditionally believed to communicate with spirits and enter altered states of consciousness.

Psychics / clairvoyants: claimed ability to perceive information unavailable through the ordinary senses.

Mediums: claimed communication with deceased persons or spirits.

Healers: believed to heal through spiritual, energetic, or other non-ordinary means.

Witches / sorcerers: traditionally associated with spells, curses, divination, and other forms of magic.

Seers: people reputed to perceive future events or hidden information.

Yogis and advanced meditators: some Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Zen and Buddhist traditions describe siddhis, unusual abilities acquired through spiritual practice.

Saints: some religious traditions attribute miracles, bilocation, prophecy, levitation, or healing to particular saints.

2. Paranormal researchers describe other claimed abilities

In parapsychology, the terminology may somewhat different. Researchers could have investigated alleged phenomena such as:

Claimed ability	Description
Telepathy	Information transfer between minds
Clairvoyance	Perception of distant or hidden information
Precognition	Apparent knowledge of future events
Psychokinesis (PK)	Mind influencing physical systems
Remote viewing	Attempting to describe a distant target without ordinary sensory access
Mediumship	Apparent communication with the deceased
Healing psi	Claimed anomalous influence on health or biological systems
Apparitions	Experiences of apparently seeing deceased or non-ordinary beings

These are claims or areas of investigation, may or may not be abilities established as ordinary scientific facts.

3. An important distinction

There could be major difference between saying:

“This person reports having an extraordinary experience.”

and

“This person objectively possesses a supernatural power.”

The first may be documented phenomenologically. The second requires evidence demonstrating that the ability may not be explained by ordinary psychological, neurological, environmental, or statistical mechanisms.

Interestingly, some people who appear to have “supernatural” abilities may instead have exceptional natural abilities, for example, extraordinary memory, pattern recognition, intuition, perceptual sensitivity, hypnotic responsiveness, or an unusual capacity to read subtle social cues.

4. From a parapsychological perspective

A more neutral question may not necessarily “Who has supernatural powers?” but:

“Are there people who demonstrate anomalous information processing or mind matter effects that may not yet be adequately explained by conventional models?”

That is essentially where parapsychology enters the discussion. It leaves open the possibility of phenomena such as ESP or PK while requiring systematic investigation rather than simply accepting supernatural explanations.

And this distinction is particularly important with prophets, psychics, mediums, remote viewers, and people reporting encounters with non-human intelligences: the experience may be genuine as an experience without the proposed explanation necessarily being established.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology; Dimensions or Realities Beyond Ordinary Human Perception:

“Dimensions or realities beyond ordinary human perception” refers to the idea that there may be aspects of reality that humans may not normally detect through their five senses or ordinary waking consciousness.

1. “Dimensions”

In this context, dimension may mean more than the mathematical dimensions of physics. It may refer to a proposed level, domain, or aspect of reality that may not directly accessible to ordinary human perception.

Examples sometimes discussed include:

Additional physical dimensions proposed in theoretical physics
Hypothesized nonphysical or spiritual realms
Altered states of consciousness
Proposed informational or consciousness related domains
In parapsychology, a possible domain associated with psi phenomena

2. “Realities”

Reality here may mean a proposed domain of existence or experience that may differ from ordinary physical, waking experience.

People sometimes use this language when discussing:

Near death experiences (NDEs)
Out of body experiences
Apparitions
Precognitive or telepathic experiences
Remote viewing
Mystical experiences
Alleged contact with non-human intelligences
Reincarnation or past-life experiences

3. The important distinction

There may be a significant difference between:

Phenomenological reality:

“I genuinely experienced something that seemed like another reality.”

and

Ontological reality:

“That experience demonstrates that another independently existing dimension actually exists.”

The first may be documented as an experience. The second is a much stronger claim requiring independent evidence.

For example, someone might report seeing deceased relatives during an NDE. The experience itself is a phenomenological fact. Whether the experience represents actual contact with deceased persons, mind generated imagery, a consciousness related phenomenon, or something else remains an interpretive question.

In parapsychology

A careful formulation would be:

“Dimensions or realities beyond ordinary human perception” refers to hypothesized aspects of existence that may not be accessible through normal sensory perception but are sometimes proposed to account for anomalous experiences or consciousness related phenomena.

This wording keeps the possibility open without automatically treating the hypothesis as established fact an especially useful distinction when discussing parapsychology, consciousness studies, and unusual experiences.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology: Past Life Memory refers to an experience in which a person reports having memories of a life lived before:

Past Life memory refers to an experience in which a person reports having memories, images, emotions, sensations, or knowledge that they believe come from a life lived before their present life. It is most commonly discussed in connection with Reincarnation and Parapsychology.

There are several ways to understand these experiences:

Reincarnation interpretation

In many religious and spiritual traditions, past life memories are considered possible memories of a previous incarnation. Some reports involve children who spontaneously describe another person’s life, sometimes with details that researchers investigate.

Psychological interpretation

Psychology may explain some apparent past life memories through mechanisms such as:
- Cryptomnesia: forgotten information is later experienced as something personally remembered.
- Confabulation: the mind unconsciously fills gaps in memory.
- Source monitoring errors: a person remembers information but misidentifies where it came from.
- Imagination and fantasy: vivid imagery may acquire a feeling of autobiographical reality.
- Dreams and hypnagogic experiences
- Suggestion: particularly during hypnosis or guided imagery.

Hypnotic regression

Past life regression uses hypnosis or guided imagery to elicit purported memories of previous lives. These experiences may be extremely vivid and emotionally meaningful, but vividness and emotional intensity may not establish historical accuracy. Certain types of Hypnosis may also increase suggestibility and produce confabulated or false memories.

Parapsychological interpretation

Some researchers investigate cases that they argue are difficult to explain through ordinary memory mechanisms. This includes spontaneous childhood cases, where the child reportedly gives specific information about a deceased person without having undergone regression. These cases are generally considered more interesting scientifically than memories produced after suggestive questioning.

An important distinction

A useful framework is:

“I experienced a memory of a past life” vs “I have established that I actually lived that past life.”

The first is a phenomenological fact about the person’s experience. The second is a historical/external claim requiring independent evidence.

This distinction is particularly important clinically. A therapist may take the experience seriously without prematurely validating or dismissing its paranormal interpretation.

For example:

“Let’s explore what you experienced, what emotions and memories arose, and what meaning it has for you, while remaining open about what we may and may not establish objectively.”

That approach allows psychological investigation and parapsychological inquiry to coexist without confusing subjective experience with proof.

Shervan K Shahhian

Compassion Training is the deliberate practice of developing the ability to respond to suffering,…

Compassion Training is the deliberate practice of developing the ability to respond to suffering, your own or someone else’s, with understanding, warmth, and a motivation to help, rather than judgment, avoidance, or hostility.

What compassion training develops

Self-compassion: treating yourself with the same understanding you would offer another person.
Empathy: recognizing and understanding another person’s emotional experience.
Emotional regulation: staying present with suffering without becoming overwhelmed by it.
Nonjudgment: noticing difficult thoughts and behaviors without immediately condemning the person.
Prosocial motivation: developing an intention to reduce suffering and promote well-being.
Compassionate action: translating concern into appropriate, constructive behavior.

Compassion vs. empathy

They’re related but not identical:

Empathy:

” I can understand or feel what you’re experiencing.”

Compassion:

“I recognize your suffering, I care about it, and I want to respond helpfully.”

Too much empathic distress may actually lead to exhaustion or withdrawal. Compassion training attempts to cultivate caring without becoming psychologically flooded.

Common approaches

A well known framework is Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). It integrates compassion practices with psychological and evolutionary models, particularly for people who experience high levels of shame, self-criticism, or threat sensitivity.

Training may include:

Compassionate breathing
Loving kindness meditation
Compassionate imagery
Developing a compassionate inner voice
Self-compassion exercises
Perspective taking
Recognizing self-criticism
Compassionate letter writing
Practicing compassionate responses to difficult people
Cultivating compassion while maintaining boundaries

A simple exercise

When encountering suffering, pause and ask:

1. What is happening?

Observe without immediately judging.

2. What might this person be experiencing?

Try to understand without assuming you know their entire story.

3. What would be genuinely helpful?

Compassion isn’t necessarily giving someone what they want.

4. What is the healthiest action I can take?

Sometimes compassion means helping; sometimes it means setting a firm boundary.

An important distinction

Compassion may not mean permissiveness.

You may simultaneously say:

“I understand that you’re suffering.”

and

“I cannot allow you to treat me this way.”

That combination, warmth plus boundaries, is particularly important in clinical, caregiving, and interpersonal settings.

In Mental Health, compassion training may therefore be viewed as developing kindness , emotional regulation, perspective taking, appropriate action, rather than simply “being nice.”

Shervan K Shahhian

ThetaHealing® is a spiritual and alternative healing practice:

Please contact ThetaHealing® for more information: www.thetahealing.com

ThetaHealing® is a spiritual and alternative healing practice developed by Vianna Stibal in the 1995. It is based on the idea that a practitioner may enter a theta brainwave state, a deeply relaxed, meditative state, and use intention, visualization, and prayer to help identify and change limiting beliefs or promote emotional and “physical healing: Please, Consult with a Medical Doctor.”

The possible, basic idea

Practitioners believe that when the brain is in the theta frequency range roughly 4–8 Hz, a person may have greater access to:

The subconscious mind

Deeply held beliefs

Emotional memories

Intuition

Creativity and imagery

Spiritual experiences

A typical ThetaHealing® session may involve the practitioner guiding the client into relaxation and then exploring beliefs such as:

“I am not good enough.”

“I don’t deserve success.”

“People cannot be trusted.”

The practitioner may then use visualization, focused intention, or prayer to attempt to replace these beliefs with more positive ones.

What does science say?

“Please, Consult with a Medical Doctor.”

This may be an important distinction:

Theta brainwaves are real and may be associated with states such as drowsiness, meditation, relaxation, and some aspects of memory processing.

However, the broader claims that could be made by ThetaHealing®, especially claims of direct physical healing, accessing universal information, or supernatural abilities, may or may not be established by strong scientific evidence, “Please, Consult with a Medical Doctor.”

Some people may nevertheless find the practice subjectively helpful because of factors also found in meditation, hypnosis, guided imagery, expectancy, emotional support, and the therapeutic relationship.

ThetaHealing® vs. Hypnosis

They may look somewhat similar because both may involve relaxation and altered states of attention, but they are conceptually different:

ThetaHealing®

Spiritual/alternative healing system

May often include prayer and spiritual beliefs

Developed as a proprietary modality

Makes broader metaphysical claims

Clinical Hypnosis

Mental Health/Hypno-clinical intervention

May be entirely secular

May have a substantial scientific and Hypno-clinical literature

Typically focuses on attention, suggestion, imagery, and behavior change

Bottom line

ThetaHealing® is best understood as a spiritual, belief change, and meditation based alternative practice may not be an established medical or evidence based psychological treatment. Some individuals report meaningful personal experiences, but extraordinary healing claims should be approached critically and should not replace appropriate medical or mental health care.“Please, Consult with a Medical Doctor.“

Shervan K Shahhian

Please contact ThetaHealing® for more information:

www.thetahealing.com

Internalized Oppression (IO) is a Psychological and Social Process:

Internalized Oppression may be a psychological and social process in which a person absorbs negative stereotypes, beliefs, or attitudes about a group they belong to and begins to apply those beliefs to themselves or others in the same group.

In simple terms:

“The negative message I have heard about people like me becomes a belief I hold about myself.”

How it develops

Internalized oppression may develop when a person is repeatedly exposed to messages through family, culture, institutions, media, peers, or discrimination, that their group is inferior, defective, undesirable, or less worthy.

Over time, those messages may become part of the person’s own self-concept.

Examples

Internalized sexism: A woman believes women are naturally less capable of leadership.
Internalized racism: A person adopts negative stereotypes about their own racial or ethnic group.
Internalized ageism: An older person begins believing, “I’m too old to learn new things.”
Internalized homophobia: A person experiences shame or self-rejection because of negative societal messages about homosexuality.
Internalized classism: Someone from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background believes, “People like me aren’t meant to succeed.”

Psychological effects

Internalized oppression may contribute to:

Self-rejection
Self-loathing
Low self-esteem
Shame and guilt
Negative self-talk
Body dissatisfaction
Depressive or anxious feelings
Imposter syndrome
Perfectionism
Rejecting or distancing oneself from members of one’s own group
Feeling that one’s identity must be hidden or changed to be acceptable

Internalized oppression vs. self-loathing

They overlap, but they aren’t identical.

Self-loathing: “I dislike or hate myself.”

Internalized oppression: “I have absorbed a negative belief about my group, and I now apply that belief to myself.”

For example:

“People from my background aren’t intelligent, so there must be something wrong with me because I’m from that background.”

That illustrates how social prejudice may become personal self-rejection.

An important distinction

Internalized oppression may not be simply having low self-esteem. It specifically involves socially or culturally transmitted devaluation becoming internalized.

A useful psychological sequence is:

External prejudice, repeated exposure, internalization, negative self-belief,

self-rejection/shame:

Possible behavioral consequences

It may also be understood as one pathway through which social oppression becomes psychologically embedded within an individual’s self-concept.

Shervan K Shahhian