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, and claimed this was a technique mostly used in the workplace by men against women. Master suppression techniques are defined as strategies of social manipulation by which a dominant group maintains such a position in an (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.

The five master suppression techniques according to Ås

Making invisible

Silencing or otherwise marginalizing people in opposition by ignoring them. Examples:

Ridicule

Portraying the arguments of an opponent, or the opponents themselves, in a ridiculing fashion. Example:

Withholding information

Excluding 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

Punishing or otherwise belittling the actions of an opponent, regardless of how they act. Example:

Heaping blame/putting to shame

Embarrassing someone or insinuating that they themselves are to blame for their position. Example:

Later additions by Ås

Berit Ås has since added two supplementary master suppression techniques.

Objectifying

Discussing the appearance of one or several persons in a situation where it is irrelevant.

Force/threat of force

Threatening with or using one's physical strength towards one or several persons. Example:

Countermeasures against master suppression techniques

A group of PhD students at Stockholm 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.