Over the centuries, human beings have found various methods of exercising power over other human beings through a series of strategies, some of them clearly valid today. Likewise, many television series and film productions have made these situations visible, since it is a frequent phenomenon in the world. However, it does not only correspond to the realm of fiction, but we can also encounter manipulative techniques in our daily lives.
Human relationships are full of strategies that aim to reduce the possibilities of others to achieve objectives. Knowing these strategies can be of great help to be able to face difficult situations in which another person tries to dominate us. In this Psychology-Online article, we will provide you with information about the psychological manipulation techniques.
Generation of guilt
First of all, we must understand what guilt means. In general terms, guilt is an emotion that appears when we believe that we have done some wrong action. Likewise, the feeling of guilt can be accompanied by regret for what happened.
However, they insist on generate the feeling of guilt on someone even though the person has not carried out any malicious action that could have affected them.
De-emphasize personal conflicts
Manipulation arises from the need to stand out in front of other people. For this reason, it is common for there to be a feeling of omnipotence that leads the manipulative person to impose themselves in various areas of life. For this reason, another of the techniques used by manipulators consists of detract from a foreign conflictto stand out and continue to be the priority
Compare with other people
Another method used by manipulative people is the constant comparison of someone’s qualities with those of other people. The purpose of these comparisons is to belittle the victim’s actions by equating them with those of other people. Therefore, this fact corresponds to an implicit way of devaluing the personsince it does not allow highlighting the achievements and goals that could have been achieved.
Postpone pleasant situations
Although it is true that this point is more common in the field of love relationships, it can also happen in other areas of human relationships. When continuous appeal is made to postponement of moments that would bring happiness In exchange for unpleasant situations, it is possible to induce that we are dealing with a person with manipulative qualities.
Some examples of this could be the promise that a person is going to separate to be with their lover in the future or ensuring the return of borrowed money when the economic situation improves, among others. It should be noted that these situations that we highlight are for illustrative purposes and do not correspond to any real situation.
Distortion of reality
Altering one person’s speech with the intention of psychologically manipulating another is a manipulation technique that should not be overlooked. On many occasions, the manipulator seeks to take advantage of a situation by distorting reality and the data as they occurred.
When we find ourselves faced with this situation, we must keep in mind that one of the main objectives of the manipulator is evade responsibility that corresponds to each person for their actions and way of acting. In this way, the manipulative person tries to assign all responsibility to another human being through modification of events.
Crossing personal limits
Establishing limits involves building a personal space in which respect, trust, security, etc. can coexist. However, personal boundaries can be crossed by those who seek to exercise power over others.
This situation can occur in a multiplicity of areas, from social ties to work schedules, romantic relationships and home situations. In this way, for a manipulative person to mention not having knowledge of the personal limits that had already been expressed previously, is nothing more than an example of a attempted breach of personal space.
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This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Rosales Álamo, M., Jiménez Betancort, H., Serio Hernández, A., Castro Sánchez, JJ (2005). Psychological characteristics associated with interpersonal manipulation in young adolescents. Network of Scientific Journals of Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal, 1 (1), 481-492.
- Serra Undurraga, J.K.A. (2016). Bond dynamics in narcissism: a relational perspective. Contemporary Clinical Magazine, 7 (1), 3-21.
- Serra Undurraga, J.K.A. (2016). The diagnosis of narcissism: a rational reading. Magazine of the Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry, 36 (129), 171-187.