Psychological manipulation

Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the behavior or perception of others through abusive, deceptive, or underhanded tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at another's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative, abusive, devious, and deceptive. The process of manipulation involves bringing an unknowing victim under the domination of the manipulator, often using deception, and using the victim to serve their own purposes.

According to psychology author George K. Simon, successful psychological manipulation primarily involves the manipulator:

Consequently, the manipulation is likely to be accomplished through covert aggressive (relational aggressive or passive aggressive) means.

Braiker identified the following ways that manipulators control their victims:

Simon identified the following manipulative techniques:

According to Braiker's self-help book, manipulators exploit the following vulnerabilities (buttons) that may exist in victims:

According to Simon, manipulators exploit the following vulnerabilities that may exist in victims:

Manipulators generally take the time to scope out the characteristics and vulnerabilities of their victim.

Kantor advises in his book that vulnerability to psychopathic manipulators involves being too:

Manipulators can have various possible motivations, including but not limited to:

Being manipulative is in Factor 1 of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (PCL).

The workplace psychopath may often rapidly shift between emotions – used to manipulate people or cause high anxiety.

The authors of the book Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work describe a five phase model of how a typical workplace psychopath climbs to and maintains power. In phase three (manipulation) - the psychopath will create a scenario of "psychopathic fiction" where positive information about themselves and negative disinformation about others will be created, where your role as a part of a network of pawns or patrons will be utilised and you will be groomed into accepting the psychopath's agenda.

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