The Master suppression techniques is a framework articulated in 1945 by the Norwegian psychologist and philosopher Ingjald Nissen. These techniques identified by Nissen are ways to indirectly suppress and humiliate opponents. In the late 1970s the framework was popularized by Norwegian social psychologist Berit Ås, who reduced Nissen's original nine means to five. Master suppression techniques are defined as strategies of social manipulation by which a dominant group maintains such a position in a (established or unexposed) hierarchy. They are very prominent in Scandinavian scholarly and public debate, where the expression is also used to refer to types of social manipulation not part of Ås's framework. Master suppression techniques are sometimes called domination techniques.
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Making invisible
To silence or otherwise marginalize persons in opposition by ignoring them.
Examples:
Ridicule
In a manipulative way to portray the arguments of, or their opponents themselves, in a ridiculing fashion.
Example:
Withhold information
To exclude a person from the decision making process, or knowingly not forwarding information so as to make the person less able to make an informed choice.
Examples:
Double bind
To punish or otherwise belittle the actions of a person, regardless of how they act.
Examples:
Heap blame/put to shame
To embarrass someone, or to insinuate that they are themselves to blame for their position.
Example:
Later additions by Ås
Berit Ås has since added two supplementary master suppression techniques.
Objectifying
To discuss the appearance of one or several persons in a situation where it is irrelevant.
Force/threat of force
To threaten with or use one's physical strength towards one or several persons.
Example:
Countermeasures against master suppression techniques
A group of PhD students at Stockholm's University has formulated five Counter strategies:
They have also formulated five Confirmation techniques:
The Centre for Gender Equality in Norway has also published an article about how to combat this phenomenon.