Psychological Manipulation Techniques

[Kaplok Kaplok]

GASLIGHTING​

Gaslighting is one of the most lethal techniques used by manipulators. It involves getting someone to doubt their perception and memories.
The manipulator will sow seeds of doubt in the victim. Once the victim is at a mindset asking theirself "Am I crazy to think this", the doubt is already rooted. The manipulator follows up with misdirection, contradiction and/or blatant lying. In a nutshell, gaslighting involves desensitizing you to your own reality, until the truth becomes what the other person says it is.

In a relationship where the victim is financially or emotionally dependent on the manipulator, the victim may accept to let go of their reality because its more comfortable to do so than to stand up to the manipulator, only to end up losing the relationship. In the workplace, a subordinate may go along with the boss’s lies because he is afraid of losing his job. In a situation where a leader gaslight his followers, it often works because deep within, the followers want to believe whatever lies the leader is telling them.

Trivia
The term “gaslighting” originates in a British play-turned film from the 1930s. The play was called “Gas Light” and the plot is about a husband who mentally and emotionally manipulates his wife into believing she is crazy by changing the intensity of the gas lamps within their home.

These are some of the techniques manipulators use to keep up with their stranglehold:

Withholding. This is when the manipulator refuses to listen to the victim, or even pretend to not understand. Often, they can deny having such conversation and the victim blames themself for not being able to communicate better.

Countering. The manipulator diverts the conversation to questioning the validity of your memory and perception, even suggesting that you were drunk, tired, or emotional during the event in question. Then they would offer an alternate version of the event where they are the hero, or sometimes the "real victim".

Blocking and Diverting. This is very similar to countering but mainly stays around questioning the way the victim is thinking, to avoid the issue that was raised.

Trivializing. This is when the manipulators makes the victim feel that their feelings are not important, or they are overreacting. The victim gets accused by blowing things out of proportion.

One way to find out that you are a victim of this is when you feel fuzzy about your own beliefs, thoughts, and feelings whenever you are with someone. You might also be apologizing for "being mistaken", or you might constantly rationalizing for the manipulator and call this "giving the benefit of the doubt".

Next: Projection

 

[Asherah Goddess]

Lahat ng mga tao ay gaslightning "unconsciously" dahil mahirap siya edefine sa sarili. Ako nga ay nagugulat na lang ako na sinasabihan ako ng "gaslightning" na walang pumapasok sa utak ko dahil wala naman ako intention o motive. I just want to be me. Ang mga tao ay judgemental na kung ano lang ang nakikita nila na external ng kanilang mata , iyon na iyon. It depends on motive sa each individual. Awkward naman ang scenario kung gina-judge natin na tao is extremely inocent kaya nga, do not judge the book by its cover "daw".

Nasabihan din ako na "feminist" , ng "woke" , ng "leftist" , ng "gaslightning"..... ano-ano pa na pwede idagdag? Ah. Nasabihan na rin ako ng "troll" , ng "weird" , ng "abnormal"...... ano-ano pa ba? (Binilang noh?) - lesson learned , we need to be tough no matter what happens. Iyon nga lang ay wala pa ako nakaka-received na "death threat".

Iyon lang ata ang kulang sa akin. Lahat ng tao ay meron different personality ika nga na people do not want to accept kung kaya the only thing na pwede gawin , love yourself. Wala kase makakaunawa sa atin kungdi tayo lang.​

 

[Kaplok Kaplok]

Lahat ng mga tao ay gaslightning "unconsciously" dahil mahirap siya edefine sa sarili. Ako nga ay nagugulat na lang ako na sinasabihan ako ng "gaslightning" na walang pumapasok sa utak ko dahil wala naman ako intention o motive. I just want to be me. Ang mga tao ay judgemental na kung ano lang ang nakikita nila na external ng kanilang mata , iyon na iyon. It depends on motive sa each individual. Awkward naman ang scenario kung gina-judge natin na tao is extremely inocent kaya nga, do not judge the book by its cover "daw".

Nasabihan din ako na "feminist" , ng "woke" , ng "leftist" , ng "gaslightning"..... ano-ano pa na pwede idagdag? Ah. Nasabihan na rin ako ng "troll" , ng "weird" , ng "abnormal"...... ano-ano pa ba? (Binilang noh?) - lesson learned , we need to be tough no matter what happens. Iyon nga lang ay wala pa ako nakaka-received na "death threat".

Iyon lang ata ang kulang sa akin. Lahat ng tao ay meron different personality ika nga na people do not want to accept kung kaya the only thing na pwede gawin , love yourself. Wala kase makakaunawa sa atin kungdi tayo lang.​

Yup.. 99% ng mga tao at organizations ay gumagamit ng manipulation techniques, including gaslighting. Oo isa lang yan sa marami. Dapat pala inintroduce ko muna yang manipulation as a whole.

Mahalaga lng alam mo kung ano ang gaslighting para ma pinpoint mo pag ginagawa ito sayo ng ibang tao.. or you can willingly use it yourself depende morality mo.

 

[mutagenesisx]

magaling yan si rodey_lyf sa mga ganyan, sleeper agent/propagandist nang MSS China PH branch. Inakusahan ba naman ako na CIA spy, eh nag share lang naman ako nang geopolitical analysis. Kasama nya yan dito yung dalawang disinformation agent na di ko lang papangalanan.

 

[Kaplok Kaplok]

magaling yan si rodey_lyf sa mga ganyan, sleeper agent/propagandist nang MSS China PH branch. Inakusahan ba naman ako na CIA spy, eh nag share lang naman ako nang geopolitical analysis. Kasama nya yan dito yung dalawang disinformation agent na di ko lang papangalanan.

Ok, kahit hnd ko alam kung saan ba dapat itong comment mo. Don't worry aawayin natin yan si Rodey pag napadaan.

 

[mutagenesisx]

Ok, kahit hnd ko alam kung saan ba dapat itong comment mo. Don't worry aawayin natin yan si Rodey pag napadaan.

wag natin awayin si rodey_lyf, nag share lang ako nang example.

 

[rodey_lyf]

mas gusto ko pagusapan yung brainwashing or cult tactics

google nyo nalang yan, yan ginamit nila para ipush ang covid vaccines, at yan din gamit ng USA sa mga bansa na kokontra sa kanya, kaya si BBM panay ang "yes" kay Biden

 

[Kaplok Kaplok]

mas gusto ko pagusapan yung brainwashing or cult tactics

google nyo nalang yan, yan ginamit nila para ipush ang covid vaccines, at yan din gamit ng USA sa mga bansa na kokontra sa kanya, kaya si BBM panay ang "yes" kay Biden

Actually sakop na yan ng dito sa psychological manipulation.
Who knows? baka nga after this, marealize mo na ung anti-vaxxers pala at communist supporter ang na-brainwash. Kaya tayo may scientific process of learning para matimbang natin ung facts saka kung alin ung appeal lamang sa emotion natin. Like I said, 99% ng mga tao at organizations ay gumagamit ng psychological tactics, kaya it is good na may outside tool ka to measure which is factual.

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Previous: Gaslighting

PROJECTION​

Projection is a psychological manipulation technique where someone transfers their emotions and mistakes onto you. Projection is a defense mechanism that almost everyone uses to some extent. We all have a natural tendency to project our negative emotions and undesirable feelings onto the people around us, and this often happens when we feel like we have been put on the spot. However, in as much as we all do it, narcissists and people with other dark personality traits tend to do it excessively and to absurd extents.

Toxic people find it very difficult to admit even to themselves that the nasty things around them could be a result of their own doing, and they always find people to blame for every little thing that happens. Such people often go out of their way to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions. As a result, they may assign their negative behavior and traits to you.

They themselves are not immoral, perse. In fact, this bahavior is well rooted on the understanding that their negative behaviors are bad. It is due to this that they will accuse others of doing "something" because they already did it themself, and they feel inferior about it. This behavior can manifest like what is called "crab mentality", wherein any hints of inferiority can trigger the manipulators tendency to project their wrongdoings to others, bolstering their ego ;or sometimes, behaving in a paranoid manner that somebody else is about to do or is already doing the same misdeed - like a karma that they are trying to avoid - painting themself as a victim.

Manipulators tend to project partly because they want to distract you and to keep you on the defensive, and this gives them more control over your life. When they accuse you of certain things, and you feel like you owe them an explanation, it allows them to dominate you; in other words, it becomes as though they are the “boss or you” and you now have to answer to them. As you frantically try to defend yourself from the accusations that they have made against you, they get to do whatever they want, and you never get the time to call them out on their mistakes. They are also counting on the fact that it would feel weird and childish if you accused them of the exact thing, they have already accused you of, so it takes away the possibility that you might confront them based on suspicions that you might have.

As we have mentioned, projection is something that everyone does, and that can complicate things for you if a manipulative person project onto you. When someone projects negative emotions onto you, you might have a natural inclination to project your sense of empathy and compassion back onto them. This explains why projection works so well as a manipulation technique. Even when someone is accusing you of doing something bad, you will still feel compassion for them, and you will go out of your way to reassure them that they are mistaken; but when you do this, they win, albeit with your help. When you feel like someone is projecting onto you, the best thing you can do is leave your own emotions out of the equation and try to respond as rationally as possible.

Next: Isolation

 

[plhbg1]

ahaha i always manipulate people, it is part of the goal of surviving this life, dalawa lang ang nangyari sa manipulation ko, either i manipulate them to my own advantage or i manipulate them to progress with me

 

[Kaplok Kaplok]

Previous: Projection

ISOLATION​

We all have social support systems that help us cope with difficult situations and keep us from making decisions that are bad for us. Manipulators understand this, and one of the first things that they'll do when trying to gain control over your life is to isolate you.

Isolation facilitates abuse because it takes away any recourse that you might have when someone starts getting abusive. It closes a victim's avenues of escape, and it increases their sense of helplessness. It increases the power that the abuser or manipulator has over the victim because it makes the victim more dependent on the abuser. And the isolation does not have to be forceful to give the illusion that it was their choice to isolate themself. Examples of ways to create willing isolation is by framing it as a proof of the victims loyalty and devotion.

When an abuser sets out to isolate you, they will start by driving a wedge between you and the people that you depend on. They will learn everything about the dynamics between you and your social support system, and they will use the weaknesses in your bonds to sow distrust and conflict. Or, at a minimum, create some seed of doubt against this systems through some elaborate narratives.

In the workplace, a manipulator may create animosity between you and your colleagues so that they get mad at you and stop siding with you or watching your back. If you join a cult or any sort of group and the leader is a manipulator, he may insist that you cut ties with your family and friends, and only depend on other people within that group. Rivals in business, at work, or even in your personal life can isolate you by smearing your name and discrediting you with other members of the community.

"Divide and conquer" is also a form of isolation that is used especially by people with the Machiavellianism trait, more commonly in politics and war. In this instance, the manipulator is using isolation as a double-edged sword to gain control over both parties that are being pulled apart from each other. This is one way for the manipulator to gain control of the opinions of the victims and make them predictable. It is certainly easy to control one dimensional people stripped of their ability to consider nuances.

Isolation can also be used by a manipulative person as a form of negative reinforcement if you are not doing what they want. For example, an abusive person might invite all your friends and acquaintances to a gathering, but fail to invite you, so that you feel left out, and you are forced to do what he wants just to score an invite to the next gathering.

Once an abuser has managed to isolate you, they will now have a free game of employing other manipulation techniques, like gaslighting and projection.



Next: Positive & Negative Reinforcement

 

[Kaplok Kaplok]

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POSITIVE & NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT​

These manipulation techniques are practices almost anyone would be familiar with. We probably even view them as good practices because we associate them to teaching and parenting. After all, psychological manipulation is practically synonomous as a process with teaching and parenting.
The only real difference is that in parenting or teaching, a part of the goal of the teacher is to eventually train the student to be independent, while in psychological manipulation, the control tends to escalate more and more and the dependence of the victim is the desired outcome of the manipulator.

(Note: However, we should also recognize that some training practices can be classified as grooming, a form of abuse done on children disguised as parenting, discipline or training.)

Positive Reinforcement​

Positive reinforcement happens when a good or desirable stimulus is presented in such a way that it appears to be a consequence of certain behavior.

When manipulators use positive reinforcements, they are always trying to get you to do things that benefit them. Example of this is You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., which can be used by individuals and organizations to attract potential victims. This technique was coined by the pratices of a cult in the 1970's to gather followers.

Positive reinforcement is also used by manipulators who want you to be their accomplice when they are taking advantage of a third party. Good examples are when manipulator offers a bribe, either in form of goods or power.

Manipulators often use positive reinforcement on an incremental basis when they want you to do something against your will. The objective here is to lull you into complacency. They know that once you have accepted a basic level of positive reinforcement, they can escalate things and push you outside of your comfort zone.

Negative Reinforcement​

To understand the concept of negative reinforcement, you first have to understand how it’s different from punishment. Both of them are popular manipulation techniques, but there is a subtle difference between them. In punishment, the manipulator adds negative stimuli when you don't act a certain way. In negative reinforcement, the manipulator removes negative stimuli when you act the way they want you to act.

While punishment is meant to stop a certain behavior from occurring again, reinforcement is meant to encourage the behavior to occur again. A manipulator would use punishment to stop you from doing something they don’t want you to do. However, they will use negative reinforcement to force you to do (or to keep doing) something they want.

In a nutshell, the manipulator have to introduce something negative first. Examples are when a religion convinces you that you are going to hell, or when a government sanctions another less powerful government, or a partner showing their negative qualities right from the beginning. The removal of these negative stimuli will then have a reinforcement effect by incrementally removing them when the victim does desirable actions.

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When done in tandem, positive & negative reinforcement can produce a certain kind of tension that can serve the manipulator as a means to control the victim. One of the fascinating or scary (depending on your take on it) example of this technique unfolding is the Phenomenon called Stockholm Syndrome.
Stockholm Syndrome is when the victim forms a bond with the manipulator, becoming an accomplice and voluntarily helps in the manipulators cause, despite being in an abusive situation.

Next: Punishment and examples