Power, Privilege and Oppression: Implicit Bias and PCS Analysis

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing core concepts from the lecture notes on Power, Privilege and Oppression, including implicit bias and Thompson's (2003) PCS Analysis model.

Implicit Bias

The attitude of internalised stereotypes and unconscious assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes that unconsciously affect perceptions, actions, and decisions, often leading to unequal treatment of people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disabilities, and health status.

Learned Mental Short-cuts

Unconscious assumptions, beliefs, attitudes, and stereotypes that human brains develop about different groups, which dictate how individuals perceive and respond to other people.

PCS Analysis (Thompson, 2003)

A framework demonstrating that discrimination and oppression operate at three interrelated, concentric levels: Personal (inner), Cultural (middle), and Structural (outer).

Personal Level (P)

The core or innermost level in Thompson's PCS framework, representing individual attitudes, feelings, perceptions, and interpersonal actions.

Cultural Level (C)

The intermediate level in Thompson's PCS framework, consisting of shared assumptions, beliefs, values, and social norms within groups.

Structural Level (S)

The outermost level in Thompson's PCS framework, encompassing societal institutions, laws, power relations, and systemic structures that reinforce inequality.

Overt Oppression

Elements of discrimination and oppression that are directly visible, explicit, and outward.

Covert Oppression

Features of discrimination and oppression that are hidden, invisible, or subtle, making them harder to detect than overt discrimination.

Personal

Refers to what happens within an individual

Interpersonal

Refers to interactions between people

Oppression

Is a prolonged cruel or unjust treatment

Diversity

A range of different things

Biological

Physical health

Psychological

How do our thoughts, feelings and perceptions help to shape our lives

Sociological

What role does our culture and the community in which we are connected influence our lives

What is the main reason why we have oppression

Privilege

Able-bodied

Is a person who can go anywhere without concern

Passion oppression

Allow to happen by doing nothing

What’s the three levels of PCS analysis

Personal

Structural

Cultural

Distribution

Is like an act of sharing, dividing, or delivering among a group

Redistribution

The act of sharing or dividing something out again in a new way often to make the outcome fairer

Micro-assaults

Hurting through name calling, exclusion, discrimination

Micro-Insult

Demeaning of identity

Micro-Individuals

Undermining of lived experience

Internalized oppression

When one’s personal identity matches the negative social identity provided by social world

Empowerment

Is about addressing the imbalance of power between groups in society

Cultural oppression

Norms, values, beliefs

Personal oppression

Beliefs

Structural oppression

Policy, laws which may discriminate

Social pathology

Character flaws in individual

Constructionist perspective

Claims making activity

Critical theory

social structures favor, certain groups, and oppress others

Value conflict perspective

competing interest, differential access to resources and other social conflicts

Social disorganization

Changes in peoples living and work environments creates personal disorganization

Labelling perspective

use of power to maintain position and define reality as good/normal or bad/deviant

PSC

Thompson model of oppression

Misogyny

Hatred of contempt of, or prejudice against women/or girls

Personal oppression

The thoughts, behaviours and actions that constitute a negative judgement or treatment of an impressed group

Beauty, truth, normal, right

Seen in cultural oppression

Systemic oppression

Seen in structural oppression

Granted at birth

Because of privilege

Privilege

Unearned access or advantages graded to specific groups of people because of their membership in a social group

Systems of privilege

Organized around 3 key characteristics

Privilege is invisible

To those who have it

We have oppression

Privilege

Holidays based on religion

Religious privilege (structural)

Prejudice

An attitude or belief (what you think) learned attitude towards an individual or group based upon stereotypes and grounded on motion rather than reason (can be positive, but usually used in the negative)