DP101 Glossary
The bulk of these terms are my own inventions. They are the new terms introduced in the Udemy eCourse Defusing Polarization: UNDERSTANDING Divisive Politics (DP101). The number in the brackets indicate which DP101 lecture the term is first introduced or used. Its link takes you right where you're first introduced to that term in the course, assuming you have access to the course at Udemy.
These definitions are provided for a wide audience, in what can be called "accessible anakelogy," in contrast to "critical anakelogy" where definitions are more critically constructed for social science review.
A
access need [16]: See need experience funnel.
anakelogy [4]: the study of need, specifically the study of our human experience of need; anakelogical (adj.) [4], anakelogically (adv.) [8]: relating to the disciplined study of need.
B
C
core need [16]: See need experience funnel.
critical politics [5]: applying the tools of anakelogy (or any other academic discipline) to descriptively understand politics.
D
deep-and-wide [19]: see psychosocial continuum.
deep-then-wide [19]: see psychosocial continuum.
deep-yet-narrow [19]: see psychosocial continuum.
descriptive (politics) [5]: describing what is, or isn’t (in politics). A key distinction between academic rigour and popular understanding that tends to be normative, or insisting on what should be. Contrasts with normative (politics).
dynamic relating [23]: continually updating what you know about something or someone, instead of relying on static beliefs that can easily become outmoded over time; dynamic relater: one who dynamically relates, who continually remains open to new information that could alter beliefs. E.g., an entrepreneur keeping up with their fickle market. Contrasts with static believing.
E
emotion [15]: need conveyor; brings awareness of something required, although may not be required presently or could be required by someone else.
empower politics [5, 23]: unleashing the power within others to actively identify, express and freely address their own needs; appealing to others for support by being attractively responsive to all needs; encouraging you to identify, express and freely address your own needs, in contrast to popular politics that easily overgeneralizes and miss your specific needs.
F
G
glow [2, 25]: affirmation, like praise, to emphasize value (1st item in 3-part sandwich format).
go [2, 25]: actionable item for recommended improvement (3rd item in 3-part sandwich format).
groupish [17]: identifying with a group in ready opposition to that group’s outsiders. (i.e., tribal; selfish on a collective level) [I learned this term from Jonathan Haidt]
grow [2, 25]: constructive critique for improvement (2nd item in 3-part sandwich format).
H
I
impact engaging [24]: explicitly expressing in inviting terms what needs another affects, and inviting them to express how their needs are impacted by the relationship. Proactively responds to the limits withi normative alienation.
J
K
L
M
N
need-experience [16]: the full process of requiring something from start to finish, along with the things and people involved when suffering or easing the need..
need-experience funnel [16]: different levels for experiencing a need, from its initial core of experiencing something slip out of functional balance, to resources for restoring balance, to access to such items, to how much it is up to you to access or others to access required items for restoring functional balance.
core need: fluctuating level necessary for functioning that falls out of balance.
resource need: something typically outside of oneself necessary for restoring fluctuating functional levels out of balance.
access need: how one is to obtain or receive a resource need.
psychosocial need: either accessing necessary resource on one’s own or by others; distinguished by “self needs” like autonomy and self-efficacy, and by “social needs” like group supports and companionship.
normative (politics) [5]: insisting on what should be (in politics).
normative alienation [11]: the standardized interactions between people unfamiliar with each other. E.g., not staring at someone you do not know; not greeting strangers in public with a hug; not referring to others with a racial slur. [24]: relying on rules, often informal, for what is minimally required between you and others; typically maintains a kind of functional distance between you and those you do not personally know. Its limits may be proactively corrected with impact engaging.
O
P
political orientation [17]: the generally inflexible position along the political spectrum or available political outlooks; the outward expression of your inward psychosocial orientation.
political polarization [9]: overgeneralizing one another’s specific experience of needs that exist within a different social situation.
politics [7]: the art of generalizing how to agreeably address needs in different social situations.
popular politics [5]: status quo politics, featuring argumentative debates and dismissiveness of others who don’t share the same outlook or experiences; in contrast to critical politics.
premature normativity [13]: standardizing what should be done prior to actually knowing what is best to be done for all affected.
pseudo-opposition [12]: seeing the worst in others as typical of them while seeing the worst in oneself and own group as atypical. (Related to some extent to fundamental attribution error.)
psychosocial bias [19]: experiencing your psychosocial needs prioritized toward those least resolved.
psychosocial depth: deep focus for prioritizing unmet self needs, such as personal freedom to engage with familiar others without government interference.
psychosocial width: wide focus for prioritizing unmet social needs , such as social inclusion of those different from traditional norms.
psychosocial continuum [19]: range of possibilities from a wide focus on social needs on one end, toward a balanced focus on both self & social needs at midpoint, to a deep focus on self needs at the other end.
wide-yet-shallow: where social needs are significantly less resolved than self needs, relative to one’s social situations; politically expressed as Far Left.
wide-then-deep: where social needs are moderately less resolved than self needs, relative to one’s social situations; politically expressed in mainstream liberalism.
wide-and-deep: where social needs are almost as resolved as self needs, relative to one’s social situations; politically expressed as center-left.
deep-and-wide: where self needs are almost as resolved as social needs, relative to one’s social situations; politically expressed as center-right.
deep-then-wide: where self needs are moderately less resolved than social needs, relative to one’s social situations; politically expressed in mainstream conservatism.
deep-yet-narrow: where self needs are significantly less resolved than social needs, relative to one’s social situations; politically expressed as Far Right.
psychosocial equilibrium [19]: experiencing your self needs and social needs on par with each other, with both relatively satisfied. Compare psychosocial imbalance or psychosocial tension.
psychosocial imbalance [17]: where your self needs resolve more than your social needs, or your social needs resolve more than your self needs. Also referred to as psychosocial tension [8].
psychosocial need [16]: see need experience funnel.
psychosocial need experience [17]: how one eases both their inward looking self needs (e.g., autonomy, self-sufficiency) and their outward facing social needs (e.g., belonging, companionship).
psychosocial orientation [17]: a stable relatively psychosocial imbalance; for some, their self-needs routinely resolve more than their social needs, while others find their social needs routinely resolve more than their self needs. Your psychosocial orientation provides the basis for your political orientation.
psychosocial tension [8]: the pull to focus more on neglected self (psycho) needs or neglected social needs, when one side is more satisfied than the other. See psychosocial imbalance [17].
Q
R
rational supremacy [12]: overestimating the role of intellectual reasoning while underestimating the role of intuition in routinely easing needs. Akin to what moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt refers to as the rationalist delusion.
resource need [16]: See need experience funnel.
S
static believing [23]: accepting something as true or untrue without remaining open to questioning such beliefs; static believer: one who accepts something as true or untrue and moves on without checking how accurate or still accurate over time. E.g., consumer of online news accepting each report at face value. Contrasts with dynamic relating.
T
trans-political [23]: beyond partisan politics, transcending the left-right binary of psychosocial biases expressed in divisive politics, to be more responsive to the needs of those on all sides.
U
V
value [25]: as used here, being responsive to need (including the meaningful need to affirm innate worth).
value frame [25]: a communication format for proactively responding to needs in a relation, based on the professional business communication format of positive-negative-positive news; value framing: using a value frame to convey needs impacted between two or more people or entities.
W
wide-and-deep [19]: See psychosocial continuum.
wide-then-deep [19]: See psychosocial continuum.
wide-yet-shallow [19]: See psychosocial continuum.
X
Y
Z
