11 Manipulation Tactics in Relationship &Life
People are trying to manipulate you all day long, and if you can spot the signs of manipulation you can see through them and have more control over your own decisions and your relationship with others.
11 Manipulation Tactics.
Charm.
We all know someone who uses a wink and a compliment to get what they want. People want to feel attractive and wanted Manipulators to play into these feelings by being charming.
They believe that when a person starts to get a little flirty, they’ll begin to be attracted to the manipulator; it will be more likely to submit to the manipulator’s demands.
Coercion.
This tactic isn’t all fun and flirty. When someone is coercing another to do something, they may use fear of harm or threats.
They might say, if you don’t help me rob this bank, I’ll kick your dog.
The coerced person may feel as though the consequences of not doing the action are worse than doing the implications of the action.
Silent Treatment.
Silence is a surprisingly effective manipulation and negotiation tool. Silence makes us all anxious.
If someone is silent or refused to speak, we may feel the urge to give in to their desires or give them something they want to break the silence.
Reason.
Not all manipulation tactics are unethical, but they may be used unethically. The reason is an excellent example of this type of manipulation tactic.
People use reason or logical arguments to get what they want.
They may tell a person or maybe even themselves, something like, If you help me rob this bank, you’ll be able to feed your family.
There’s nothing really inaccurate about that, though; right when It’s hard to argue against someone who uses reason as a manipulation tactic, you may be more likely to break down and give the manipulator what they want.
Regression.
When two people reason with each other like adults, it can be easy for both parties to hold their ground. But when one person reverts to acting like a child, things might go haywire.
This is a regression tactic. A person may wind cry or pout to get their way.
People may give in simply because they want a childish behavior to stop.
Self A Basement.
Not all manipulation tactics involve insulting or forcing the other person to do something. If a manipulator uses self basement to get what they want, they will humble themselves self.
A basement may be used when a manipulator wants someone to forgive them, believe them, or maybe make efforts to strengthen a relationship.
Self a basement, if you don’t already know, is basically whenever you humiliate yourself.
People do this all the time with something called self-deprecating jokes. However, it is a form of manipulation.
Responsibility Invocation.
Let’s say you’re considering getting your nails done. It’s easy just to decide.
No, I’m not going to get my nails done. However, if you’ve already booked an appointment, it’s not easy to skip out and not get your nails done.
Responsibility Invocation uses these types of obligations to convince someone to follow through with plans that they’ve made.
A manipulator might say things like, but you’ve promised, or I’ve already booked the reservations. That way, they could make communicating no a lot harder.
Hardball.
Hardball tactics take coercion to the next level. While someone may use coercion to install the fear of harm, hardball tactics actually cause harm or bodily injury.
If there’s someone like this in your life, getaway as soon as possible.
Pleasure Induction
For many funs, induction is a harmless manipulation tactic when someone invokes the pleasure induction tactic there, simply telling the person that they are trying to get them to do it will be fun and that the person will enjoy it.
Come on; it’ll be fun. What’s the harm?
However, it’s still a form of manipulation.
Social Comparison.
The social comparison theory describes how we compare ourselves to others. Many people measure their success, attractiveness, and personality traits through others’ comparisons.
Manipulators know this tendency well; they will use social comparison to convince you to take action. Your friend. It worked like this for her partner.
The celebrity in this magazine is on this diet, and you should be too. But he wears glasses, and he’s really attractive.
Monetary Reward.
Manipulators may play into a person’s agreed by offering them money to commit acts they typically wouldn’t commit.
If you are offered a million dollars, would you commit a crime?
Some stereotypes.
Women are often framed as master manipulators. Well, this just isn’t true. There are no sex differences in the tactics of manipulation.
Research shows that men and women equally perform these tactics.
Manipulation tactics show up pretty frequently in the book; Prince Machiavelli is one of the world’s most famous manipulators.
He’s so infamous that one of the dark triad personality traits is actually named after him.
People who arm or Machiavellian are more likely to use and also justify their use of manipulation tactics.
They believe that they are above ethics, and they deserve to get what they want, even if it’s through manipulation.
The connection is rather obvious, but there are also some connections between the tactics of manipulation and the other big Five personality traits.
Personality Traits
Extra Version
people who score high and extra versions are more likely to use coercion and responsibility on vacation.
This is most likely because you’re comfortable being around other people.
Agreeableness
People who score high in agreeableness are more likely to use pleasure, induction, and reason to get what they want. These two manipulation tactics are some of the most ethical.
They convince people that they will get something positive out of taking specific actions.
And conversely, disagreeable people are more likely to seek revenge on people through coercion in the silent treatment.
Conscientiousness
Like agreeableness, People who score high on conscientiousness are more likely to choose reason over other manipulation tactics.
And I think this is because O. C. D. People are more likely to follow the rules and think logically, and because of this reason, it is very attractive to them now.
On the other hand, people who score low and conscientious are more likely to pick potentially criminal tactics, like coercion or unlawful monetary rewards.
The opposite of conscientiousness is sometimes called impulsiveness.
Openness.
People who score high for openness are more likely to use reason and sometimes pleasure induction and responsibility Invocation.
Successful reasoning often requires a higher understanding of logic or even higher intelligence.
And usually, high openness and high intellect are commonly linked. Conversely, people who score low and openness are more likely to use social comparison.
As you evaluate relationships in your life, keep an eye out for master manipulators and the signs of the following manipulation tactics.
The more you know about manipulation, the easier it will be to see these tactics at work and gain more control over the decisions you make.
And if you want to, maybe you can manipulate someone into doing something right.
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