Understatements
Understatement is a form of speech which contains an expression of less strength than what would be expected. A related term 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 (mood), depression (found in those with Major depressive disorder, clinical, Bipolar disorder, bipolar, and Dysthymia, chronic depressive mood disorders, as well as cyclothymia) 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 to combat neurosis was to minimise the excessive significance the neurotic attaches to his own symptoms—the Narcissism, narcissistic 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 blank expression, 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. On a wider scale, renaming things in a more benign or neutral form—'collateral damage' for death—is a form of minimisation.As a form of manipulation
Minimisation may also take the form of a Psychological manipulation, 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)Minimization: Trivializing Behavior as a Manipulation TacticSchool bullying
School bullying is one form of victimisation or physical abuse 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 (social and political), power inequity between the bully and the victim that lasts beyond the duration of the act.See also
References
Further reading
* Henning, K & Holdford,