Manipulation (psychology)
Manipulation or emotional manipulation is the use of devious means to exploit, control, or otherwise influence others to one’s advantage. In the extreme it is a stratagem of tricksters, swindlers, and impostors who disrespect moral principles, deceive and take advantage of others’ frailty and gullibility. At the very least, manipulation is forced influence used to gain control, benefits, and/or privileges at the expense of the others. Manipulation differs from general influence and persuasion. Influence is generally perceived to be harmless as it respects the right of the influenced to accept or reject it, and is not unduly  coercive. Persuasion is the ability to move a person or persons to a desired action, usually within the context of a specific goal. Influence and persuasion are neither positive nor negative. Motivations. There are various possible motivations for being manipulative such as to advance purposes and personal gain, to attain feelings of power and superiority in relationships with others, to feel in control, to boost self-esteem, boredom, or growing tired of one's surroundings; seeing manipulation as a game, and covert agendas, criminal or otherwise, including financial manipulation. Studies of the predictors of emotional manipulation indicate that the mechanisms  behind emotional manipulation differ as a function of gender: Forms. Common means of manipulation can be understood through methods of conditioning. Reinforcement is used to increase the frequency of a behavior. Positive reinforcement presents rewards like praise, superficial charm, superficial sympathy (crocodile tears), excessive apologizing, money, approval, gifts, attention, facial expressions such as a forced laugh or smile, and public recognition. Intermittent reinforcement can create an effective climate of fear and doubt, which can encourage the victim to persist in acting to the manipulator's benefit. On the flip side, punishment is used to decrease the frequency of a behavior . Positive punishments presents aversive stimuli, which can include nagging, yelling, intimidation, threats, swearing, emotional blackmail, guilt trips, sulking, crying, and playing the victim. Negative punishments remove rewards, like the removal of social interactions with the silent treatment. Punishments can establish the manipulator's dominance or superiority, as even one incident of such behavior can condition victims to avoid upsetting the manipulator. Manipulators typically exploit various vulnerabilities. Those who suffer from low self-esteem or self-doubts, lacking in confidence and assertiveness, and who are likely to go on the defensive too easily. Additionally, the more emotionally dependent a person is , the more vulnerable they are to being exploited and manipulated. Naïve or immature individuals can be in denial that they are being taken advantage of, finding it hard to accept that some people utilize manipulation. Many intellectualize the manipulator's behavior, leading them to believe that they have some understandable or acceptable reason to be manipulative. People who are greedy and dishonest may be easily enticed to act in an immoral way. Over-agreeable or submissive individuals are often too willing to give another the benefit of the doubt. Mental illness. While manipulation is a common human behavior, individuals with  the following mental health issues are prone to manipulate: Borderline Personality Disorder is unique in the grouping as "borderline" manipulation is characterized as unintentional and dysfunctional manipulation. Marsha M. Linehan has stated that people with borderline personality disorder often exhibit behaviors which are not truly manipulative, but are erroneously interpreted as such. According to Linehan, these behaviors often appear as unthinking manifestations of intense pain, and are often not deliberate as to be considered truly manipulative. In the DSM-V, manipulation was removed as a defining characteristic of borderline personality disorder. Further reading. Books Academic papers External links Manipulation (psychology