science

Psychology of disenfranchisement

Psychology of disenfranchisement is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Psychology of disenfranchisement rather than just read about it. In short: The psychology of disenfranchisement is a theory developed by Rex Briggs while studying minority groups at social research firm Yankelovich Partners. Originally published by Yankelovich Partners, Grant Lukenbill's book, Untold Millions, applied the theory to help explain marketing opportunities to gays and lesbians.

Key takeaways

Psychology of disenfranchisement belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Psychology of disenfranchisement to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Psychology of disenfranchisement from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The psychology of disenfranchisement is a theory developed by Rex Briggs while studying minority groups at social research firm Yankelovich Partners. Originally published by Yankelovich Partners, Grant Lukenbill's book, Untold Millions, applied the theory to help explain marketing opportunities to gays and lesbians. In Brigg's original research, he observed higher levels of stress, skepticism and self-protection needs among minority groups. The psychology of disenfranchisement theory suggests that there are three components that drive the psychology of disenfranchisement: alienation, cynicism and perceived victimization. These components interact and intensify each other. Alienation, Briggs argues, may be due to negative perceptions, stereotypes and discrimination condoned and practiced by the dominant culture. The perception of separation from the mainstream culture can create severe stress and can be considered the impetus for the psychology of disenfranchisement. Cynicism is one of the inevitable offshoots of alienation, resulting in the conviction that things will go wrong, that harm is to be expected. It involves a sense that the institutions of society (from which one is alienated) are not only remote, but inimical. Victimization is the feeling that develops out of the perception of intentional or unintentional undeserved mistreatment by other individuals, organizations, or institutions. Victimization is a logical outgrowth of feelings of cynicism and alienation from the dominant culture. The perceived victimization legitimizes and justifies the cynicism, and over time this cycle can become entrenched, thereby increasing the feelings of alienation. The resulting needs include: self-understanding (recognition of and respect for one's individuality), association (a sharing of occasions with "people like me"), security (emotional, social and psychical), independence, stress relief (self-indulgence, escapism). All the Rage: The Story of Gay Visibility in America cites Briggs' psychology of disenfranchisement theory as a launching point to discuss how advertising can offer inclusion in its messaging, so as to resonate better. In 2006, Steven Andrew Culpepper summarized Dubois 1903 book, Sols of Black Folk as capturing the essence of a double-consciousness, a paradoxical experience of deep psychic atrocity tracing from slavery, "while the American experience resonates with a hopeful ethos characterized by universality of equality and justice for all." Culpepper applies this same psychology of disenfranchisement to women, "that were severely excluded from its rights and privileges in society that touts equality and justice." A more literal use of the concept, "psychology of disenfranchisement" has been applied by Keven Lanning where he examines the consequences to both the person and the community when individuals do not have equal access, or equal voices, at the polls.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Psychology of disenfranchisement

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Psychology of disenfranchisement claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Psychology of disenfranchisement before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Psychology of disenfranchisement ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Psychology of disenfranchisement

In research: Psychology of disenfranchisement appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Psychology of disenfranchisement in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Psychology of disenfranchisement is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Minority rights, Political psychology, Social psychology concepts, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Psychology of disenfranchisement outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Psychology of disenfranchisement in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Psychology of disenfranchisement means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Psychology of disenfranchisement out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Psychology of disenfranchisement in simple terms?

Why does Psychology of disenfranchisement matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Psychology of disenfranchisement?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Psychology of disenfranchisement.