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Minimisation or minimization is a type of deceptionGuerrero, L., Anderson, P., Afifi, W. (2007). ''Close Encounters: Communication in Relationships'' (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications. {{ISBN? involving
denial Denial, in ordinary English usage, has at least three meanings: asserting that any particular statement or allegation is not true (which might be accurate or inaccurate); the refusal of a request; and asserting that a true statement is not true. ...
coupled with rationalisation/rationalization in situations where complete denial is implausible. It is the opposite of
exaggeration Exaggeration is the representation of something as more extreme or dramatic than it really is. Exaggeration may occur intentionally or unintentionally. Exaggeration can be a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke stron ...
. Minimisation, or downplaying the significance of an event or emotion, is a common strategy in dealing with feelings of
guilt Guilt may refer to: *Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard *Culpability, a legal term *Guilt (law), a legal term Music * ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims * "Guilt" (The Long Bl ...
. Words associated with minimisation include: {{Columns-list, colwidth=30em, * belittling * discounting * downplaying * euphemism * invalidation * making light of *
meiosis Meiosis (; , since it is a reductional division) is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, such as sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately r ...
* minification * minimise * trivialising * underplaying * understating


Manipulative abuse

{{See also, Gaslighting Minimisation may take the form of a manipulative technique: * observed in abusers and manipulators to downplay their misdemeanors when confronted with irrefutable facts.Simon, George K. ''In Sheep's Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People'' (1996){{ISBN?{{Page?, date=June 2022Minimization: Trivializing Behavior as a Manipulation Tactic
/ref> * observed in abusers and manipulators to downplay positive attributes (talents and skills etc.) of their victims. Typical psychological defences exhibited by
stalkers Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...
and guilty criminal suspects include
denial Denial, in ordinary English usage, has at least three meanings: asserting that any particular statement or allegation is not true (which might be accurate or inaccurate); the refusal of a request; and asserting that a true statement is not true. ...
, rationalisation, minimisation and projection of blame onto the victim. A variation on minimisation as a manipulative technique is ''"claiming
altruistic Altruism is the principle and moral practice of concern for the welfare and/or happiness of other human beings or animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core asp ...
motives"'' such as saying "I don't do this because I am selfish, and for gain, but because I am a socially aware person interested in the common good".Kantor, Martin ''The Psychopathy of Everyday Life'' 2006 {{ISBN?


Cognitive distortion

Minimisation may also take the form of
cognitive distortion A cognitive distortion is an exaggerated or irrational thought pattern involved in the onset or perpetuation of psychopathological states, such as depression and anxiety. Cognitive distortions are thoughts that cause individuals to perceive rea ...
: * that avoids acknowledging and dealing with negative emotions by reducing the importance and impact of events that give rise to those emotions. * that avoids conscious confrontation with the negative impacts of one's behavior on others by reducing the perception of such impacts. * that avoids interpersonal confrontation by reducing the perception of the impact of others' behavior on oneself.


Examples

* saying that a
taunt A taunt is a battle cry, sarcastic remark, gesture, or insult intended to demoralize the recipient, or to anger them and encourage reactionary behaviors without thinking. Taunting can exist as a form of social competition to gain control of the tar ...
or insult was only a joke * a customer receiving a response to a complaint to a company for poor service being told that complaints like his from other customers were very rare when in fact they are common * suggesting that there are just a few
bad apples The bad apples metaphor originated as a warning of the corrupting influence of one corrupt or sinful person on a group: that "one bad apple can spoil the barrel". Over time the concept has been used to describe the opposite situation, where "a ...
or rogues in an organisation when in reality problems are widespread and systemic * Your boss may redirect you instead of rejecting you in a subtle way (with or without factual evidence)


School bullying sometimes minimised as a prank

School bullying School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim repeatedly by acting aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be verb ...
is one form of
victimisation Victimisation ( or victimization) is the process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology. Peer victimisation Peer victimisa ...
or
physical abuse Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
which has sometimes been unofficially encouraged, ritualised or even minimised as a sort of prank by teachers or peers. The main difference between pranks and bullying is establishment of
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
inequity between the bully and the victim that lasts beyond the duration of the act.{{cite journal , last1 = Goldsmid , first1 = S. , last2 = Howie , first2 = P. , year = 2014 , title = Bullying by definition: An examination of definitional components of bullying , journal = Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties , volume = 19 , issue = 2, pages = 210–225 , doi = 10.1080/13632752.2013.844414 , s2cid = 145146347


Understatements

{{Main, Understatement Understatement is a form of speech which contains an expression of less strength than what would be expected. Understatement is a staple of
humour Humour ( Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in ...
in English-speaking cultures, especially in
British humour British humour carries a strong element of satire aimed at the absurdity of everyday life. Common themes include sarcasm, tongue-in-cheek, banter, insults, self-deprecation, taboo subjects, puns, innuendo, wit, and the British class syste ...
. In this humorous form, the understatement is expected to not be interpreted literally. Related but separate is euphemism, where a polite phrase is used in place of a harsher or more offensive expression.


Self-esteem/depression

Redefining events to downplay their significance can be an effective way of preserving one's self-esteem. One of the problems of depression (found in those with clinical, bipolar, and chronic depressive mood disorders, as well as
cyclothymia Cyclothymia ( ), also known as cyclothymic disorder, psychothemia/psychothymia, bipolar III, affective personality disorder and cyclothymic personality disorder, is a mental and behavioural disorder that involves numerous periods of symptoms of ...
) is the tendency to do the reverse: minimising the positive, discounting praise, and dismissing one's own accomplishments. On the other hand, one technique used by
Alfred Adler Alfred Adler ( , ; 7 February 1870 – 28 May 1937) was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. His emphasis on the importance of feelings of belonging, family constellation and birth orde ...
to combat neurosis was to minimise the excessive significance the neurotic attaches to his own symptoms—the
narcissistic Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...
gains derived from pride in one's own illness.


Social minimisation

Display rules expressing a group's general consensus about the display of feeling often involve minimising the amount of emotion one displays, as with a poker face. Social interchanges involving minor infringements often end with the 'victim' minimising the offence with a comment like 'Think nothing of it', using so-called 'reduction words', such as 'no big deal,' 'only a little,' 'merely,' or 'just', the latter particularly useful in denying intent.N. Symington, ''Narcissism'' (1990) p. 116 On a wider scale, renaming things in a more benign or neutral form—'
collateral damage Collateral damage is any death, injury, or other damage inflicted that is an incidental result of an activity. Originally coined by military operations, it is now also used in non-military contexts. Since the development of precision guided ...
' for death—is a form of minimisation.


Literary analogues

A scene in the film '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' involving the Black Knight character, demonstrates an absurd level of minimisation. For example, the knight's response to his having his left arm severed is "It's just a flesh wound." Compare with the Monty Python
Dirty Fork The Dirty Fork, also known simply as Restaurant Sketch, is a Monty Python sketch that appeared in episode 3 of the first series of the television series ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', and later in the film, ''And Now For Something Completely Dif ...
sketch, which is the opposite extreme of absurdity ( catastrophisation).


See also

{{columns-list, colwidth=18em, *
Deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blun ...
*
Discrediting tactic A smear campaign, also referred to as a smear tactic or simply a smear, is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It makes use of discrediting tactics. It can be applied to individual ...
*
Half-truth A half-truth is a deceptive statement that includes some element of truth. The statement might be partly true, the statement may be totally true, but only part of the whole truth, or it may use some deceptive element, such as improper punctuation, ...
*
Limited hangout A limited hangout or partial hangout is a tactic used in media relations, perception management, politics, and information management. The tactic originated as a technique in the espionage trade. Concept According to Victor Marchetti, a form ...
*
Mind games Playing mind games (also power games or head games) is the largely conscious struggle for psychological one-upmanship, often employing passive–aggressive behavior to specifically demoralize or dis-empower the thinking subject, making the a ...
*
Mitigating factor In criminal law, a mitigating factor, also known as an extenuating circumstance, is any information or evidence presented to the court regarding the defendant or the circumstances of the crime that might result in reduced charges or a lesser sente ...
* Relational transgressions * Reverse psychology * Rhetoric * Spin *
Stiff upper lip A person who is said to have a stiff upper lip displays fortitude and stoicism in the face of adversity, or exercises great self-restraint in the expression of emotion. Minimization, Denial, and Victim Blaming by Batterers
Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 33, No. 1, 110–130 (2006) * Rogers, Richard & Dickey, Rob (March 1991) Denial and minimization among sex offenders ''Journal Sexual Abuse'' Vol 4, No 1: 49–63 * Scott
Denial, Minimization, Partner Blaming, and Intimate Aggression in Dating Partners
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 22, No. 7, 851–871 (2007) {{Defence mechanisms {{DEFAULTSORT:Minimisation (Psychology) Defence mechanisms Cognitive biases Error Public relations techniques