Manipulation of people
Everyone strives to achieve goals that can be completely different and depend on many factors that determine a person's life and personality. The way they are implemented may differ in the same way. One person can achieve them only on his own, guided by ethical principles in relation to the surrounding principles, with an understanding of which ways of achieving the result are appropriate and which ones go beyond the boundaries of what is permissible. The other can have a psychological effect on people and use them for personal gain.
This is called manipulation. It does not always carry a negative connotation, but it is imperative to know what it is, how it is carried out, and what manipulation techniques are necessary. Firstly, it will help you protect yourself from the psychological influence of others, and secondly, you yourself will learn to use manipulation, because, one way or another, there are situations when it is quite acceptable.
What is Human Manipulation?
Manipulation of people should be understood as a whole complex of techniques for influencing the consciousness of other people. In fact, this is a whole art, assuming that a manipulating person (manipulator), understanding the intricacies of the human psyche, finds an individual approach to any person. At the same time, he constantly forms a new image of himself in order to achieve his goals. Many people, unfortunately, do not even think that there are a huge number of techniques and methods of manipulation, and that with their help they are "controlled" almost every day. This is because manipulation tends to be stealthy. Few people are able to master all the methods, but even a few will be enough to direct the actions of a particular person in the right direction.
The manipulator must have an idea of personality types, be sensitive to the mood and emotional state of people. And any of us can fall under the influence of such a person. But the difference in suggestibility (more or less we give in to influence) depends on individual characteristics. There are even those who simply cannot be manipulated. Most often these are very strong and perceptive natures with specific mental properties. And manipulators try not to get involved with them, because all their hidden intentions immediately become clear.
Any manipulator to a certain extent is a psychologist, because he determines the “potential” of the victim, her weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages of character and temperament. And as soon as a weak point is found, he begins to influence it. An emotional state, a state of being in love, affection, resentment, interest or belief can serve as such a point. The main task of the manipulator is to determine what exactly is a point. The media (mass manipulation), public figures, politicians and other high-ranking officials acting out of selfish interests are guided by similar principles in their activities.
By the way, Tatyana Vasilyeva, a trainer of the Equator company, tells in a very accessible form about what manipulation is. Watch the video, after which we will talk about what psychology tells us about human manipulation.
Psychology of manipulation
Consciousness manipulation is a very subtle art, and in order to understand it, you need to know how a manipulator can act in most cases. The examples here are quite common. So, in pursuit of his goals, he can begin to praise a person in order to gain his favor. And having felt that he has achieved it, proceed to the main action - ask or somehow force something to be done for him. And it works - a person who has just heard a tirade addressed to him, purely psychologically, will be forced to fulfill the request so as not to seem ill-mannered or tactless.
But imagine that the person managed to realize that the manipulator's speech was insincere, or simply felt that some requests would follow after it, and showed awareness and firmness of character. Having caught this behavior, the manipulator will either stop trying to influence, or may enter into confrontation and even offend the one whom he initially wanted to manipulate.
There are more examples. Many manipulators intimidate people, which often works, because there are many who are unable to overcome fear and anxiety. In this case, the initiator of the manipulation controls the behavior of a person who is ready to sacrifice his interests so as not to aggravate the situation. But this is only the apparent "power" and "strength" of the manipulator.
Psychology often points out that a person's desire to control others should be seen as a reflection of his own weakness. By controlling the actions of others, the manipulator simply compensates for his own complexes, powerlessness, insecurity, or even envy. But it is also very interesting that some people have no idea that they are manipulating someone. Every person has played such a role at least once in his life, albeit unconsciously. Therefore, you need to be conscious more often and try to objectively perceive your own actions and deeds. Check out our article “How to Express Your Emotions and Avoid Becoming a Manipulator,” and related books such as the work of Henrik Fexeus. However, we will talk about books later, but for now we will not deviate from the topic.
Psychologists have identified several types of people who are potential victims of manipulation. There are five of these types:
- The first type is people who live ordinary lives, striving for safety and comfort, in whose thinking common sense and logic prevail. Such people are manipulated mainly at the level of needs.
- The second type is people who live mainly in a state of stress, with a predominantly creative mindset, dreamy, vulnerable and sensitive, easily amenable to suggestion. These people are manipulated at the level of feelings and imagination.
- The third type is rational people, thinking logically, preferring facts and specifics and subjecting everything to analysis. People in this category are manipulated, affecting their sense of justice, conscience and morality, as well as their self-esteem.
- The fourth type is people whose behavior is dictated by animal instincts, and who strive in their lives for the most part to eating, sleeping and having sex. It's easy to manipulate such people - just by giving them one of these pleasures.
- The fifth type is people with psychological disorders, whose behavior is influenced by hallucinations; people deprived of common sense and the ability to fully analyze what is happening. They are subjected to the most severe manipulations through intimidation or pain.
Manipulators are able to determine the type of victim with amazing accuracy (after only having a little talk with a person), and based on this data, they choose a method or technique for manipulating consciousness.
Techniques and methods of manipulation
The art of manipulation is quite diverse. Some use the same methods, while others constantly hone their skills in order to manipulate with greater efficiency. Knowing about these methods is useful in order to understand what to fear, be able to defend yourself and be able to expose the manipulator. If suddenly you yourself want to try to manipulate someone at your leisure, keep in mind that any techniques and methods will give the result only after careful preparation, in particular after determining the points of influence.
The most common points of contact for manipulation are:
- emotional condition;
- professional skills;
- way of thinking, habits and style of behavior;
- worldview and beliefs;
- interests and needs.
To successfully manipulate a person, the manipulator must collect information about him. It is strategically useful to think in detail about the time, place and conditions in which the manipulation will take place, as well as create a suitable environment for it that increases suggestibility. Examples of such a setting: crowded or, conversely, secluded places, depending on the situation.
The contact established between people is of no less importance. An experienced manipulator is able to establish a communication link and develop it to inspire confidence in the victim. It is pertinent to note here that many famous authors (Dale Carnegie, Robert Levin, Henrik Fexeus and others) wrote and are writing about manipulation techniques, and therefore it is not difficult to find a manual.
After the contact is established and the conditions correspond to the planned, the "preparatory stage" ends. Now you can resort to manipulation techniques (note that not all of them require careful preparation and can be applied spontaneously). The techniques and methods of manipulation described below are used most often as the most effective. We think you can find examples without any problems.
Imaginary inferiority
The method of imaginary inferiority consists in the fact that the manipulator shows weakness and expects a condescending attitude towards himself. If it is possible to convince the victim of this, she loses her vigilance, relaxes and ceases to perceive the manipulator as a rival or a person who is stronger than her.
The best way to protect yourself from such manipulation is to perceive everyone around as strong people (serious rivals).
False repetition
False repetition is designed to alter the essence of the words spoken by the victim to give them meaning that is beneficial to the manipulator. The initiator pronounces the same as the victim, but in a slightly different form that allows you to change the meaning.
In order not to fall for this bait, you need to listen as carefully as possible to what people say to you in response to your words, and immediately point out distortions and inaccuracies, if any.
False love
Falling in love is expressed by showing (insincere) reverence, respect, or love. The consciousness of the object of manipulation is clouded by flattering words and attitudes, which allows you to achieve a variety of goals.
Developed intuition, sensitivity and a sober mind help to resist the method, which make it possible to recognize the insincerity and real attitude of the manipulator.
Ostentatious indifference
The method of ostentatious indifference is based on the fact that the manipulator appears to be indifferent in the eyes of the victim to her ideas and words. He simply waits patiently for the subject to prove his awareness and the value of what he knows in terms of important facts. As a result, you can easily find out everything you need on the right topic without much effort.
To protect yourself from such provocations, you need to remain attentive to the behavior of people and notice suspicious signs in time.
Feigned haste
The method of feigning haste is no less famous in the art of manipulation. Here the manipulator begins to pretend that he is in a hurry and speaks quickly, "speaking his teeth" to the victim. As a result, the latter simply does not have time to comprehend everything said and agrees with the manipulator (for example, to fulfill his request).
Noticing such behavior in your interlocutor, you need to stop his speech as soon as possible (even interrupt) and, indicating your own haste, stop the conversation.
Unmotivated anger
The method of unmotivated anger is that the manipulator begins to behave demonstratively and aggressively, so that the victim begins to calm him down and make concessions.
An easy way to counter this “anger” is to ignore it, not calm the manipulator, and remain steadfast. Indifference always has a sobering effect on aggressors.
Untrue stupidity
The method of false stupidity is very simple: the manipulator accuses the victim of ignorance and stupidity, which makes him confused. The initiator makes the victim start to think and doubt, and uses this moment to prove his position or achieve another goal.
Confidence in your own literacy and validity of judgments, as well as the ability to control yourself, will help you avoid falling into this trick.
Simulating bias
The method of imitation of bias is that the victim is forced to reject the suspicion that he is biased towards the manipulator who is pointing this out. The victim begins to make excuses, praise the interlocutor, point out his positive qualities and advantages, and show goodwill. This helps the manipulator to satisfy, for example, the need for vanity or to achieve some other result.
It is not difficult to resist imitation of bias: you just need to initially refute any possibility of bias, in terms of facts, and not start playing by the rules of the manipulator.
Labeling
The labeling method assumes that the manipulator, when talking to the victim about a third person, speaks unflattering about him. The negative displayed by the manipulator contributes to the fact that the victim begins to think badly about the third person, while, quite possibly, even without knowing him (if this person is familiar, trust in him may simply be lost). Thus, there are two victims at once - direct and indirect.
The understanding that nothing can be taken at their word will help to avoid manipulation. The information, of course, needs to be taken into account, but it is necessary to check it.
Specific terminology
The method of using specific terminology works great when manipulating a person's consciousness. The manipulator uses terms and concepts unknown to the victim during the conversation. It turns out that she finds herself in an awkward position and, not wanting to show awkwardness, does not ask again about anything. The manipulator wins and can take advantage of the situation.
As the well-known proverb says: “it is better to ask again twice than to remain silent once”, so in any such case you should not be shy and try to clarify everything that is not clear.
The game of the common people
How to manipulate people
The method of playing the common people can be called specific, because it is most often used by politicians and important influential persons. The manipulator creates an image of “such as everyone else”, a completely simple person, which allows him to close the distance with people, earn their trust and form the desired image.
You should never take everything and everyone at their word; you need to objectively evaluate people and try to recognize their motives.
Planned PR
The method of planned PR also belongs to the category of specific, tk. used for PR purposes when you need to form a positive image or image of a product or person. Manipulators (here, as a rule, there are several of them) disseminate information among people that carries the best that can only be said about a PR object.
As in many other cases, it is possible not to fall into the trap of planned PR with the help of a conscious perception of incoming information, its objective assessment and verification.
Link to authorities
The method of referring to authorities boils down to the fact that the manipulator, communicating with the victim, quotes or cites the opinions of famous and influential people, thanks to which he makes the necessary impression on her (and those around him in general).
In order not to let the influence on yourself, you need to carefully listen to what you are told, and ask the manipulator clarifying questions, with the help of which you can reveal his incompetence.
Card fraud
The card-rigging method is no more complicated than the previous one. The manipulator, talking with the victim, selects as arguments several approximately similar facts in order to put them together and show the problem under discussion from the side that is beneficial to him.
Such manipulation can be countered by citing other facts that reveal the topic under discussion from a side disadvantageous to the manipulator.
Grin
The method of grinning (or irony) is expressed in the fact that the manipulator demonstrates a disdainful attitude towards the victim's words, as a result of which she begins to lose her temper, get angry, and lose self-control. As a result, the protective barrier of the psyche is removed and the person succumbs to suggestion.
The only and most effective way to deal with such manipulation is absolute indifference to the words of the manipulator.
Misrepresentation of favorable terms
The method of falsely presenting favorable terms is that the manipulator verbally and non-verbally hints to the victim about the great opportunities that he has at the moment. If the victim can be convinced of this, the manipulator can influence her so that she, for example, performs some actions that are beneficial to him.
You can resist this method by clearly understanding your own place, your capabilities and conditions. The main thing is not to succumb to provocations and not to do what should not be done.
These are the most popular techniques and methods of manipulation. Of course, the arsenal of manipulators is much wider, but we will not touch on more specific methods. Instead, here are a few secrets of hasty manipulation. They will help you better understand how to manipulate people and protect yourself from manipulation.
Secrets of Successful Manipulation The art of manipulating the human mind is so widespread that we do not even think that we are becoming its victims. And in order to become more receptive (as well as to improve your own skill), you need to know a few secrets of manipulation. We can name four such secrets:
- Simple, kind and merciful people, capable of altruism and self-sacrifice, are most often amenable to manipulation. These traits are undoubtedly good, but they make a person more vulnerable.
- Manipulators successfully exploit subconscious human fears, such as the fear of being abandoned or lonely. By pressing on these points, it becomes very easy to control the actions and even thoughts of others.
- Manipulators take into account that most people are wary of negative emotions and avoid conflict. A banal raising of the voice or a change in tone can be controlled by a person without resorting to the above methods.
- Manipulations are most successful when used against people who do not know how to say "No", ie. refuse. Knowing that such a person is in front of him, the manipulator can be 80% sure that the victim will do what he says.
In communication, you must always remain vigilant - this is the first step towards countering manipulation. It is equally important to know your personal characteristics and develop awareness - this also helps to strengthen the "immunity" against those who want to use you for their own purposes.
If you want to understand the topic in depth, we have a good arrangement for you!
