In one of my past reports, I talked about 7 simple ways of manipulation. Today, I will share with you 6 complex ways of manipulating the human mind.
This is the fourth part of my rubric "Forms of human control and manipulation." The main principle in any case: "Forewarned - means armed". My main task is to warn you - your task is to be armed with this knowledge.
1. The shift in emphasis
Manipulators consciously shift the emphasis in the material being submitted, putting aside something not desirable and underscoring what they need. This is the fate of the media, in most cases serving their masters.
An example is the anecdote of the era of the General Secretary Brezhnev. The media comment on the race that took place at the suggestion of Jimmy Carter around the White House. Carter and Leonid Ilyich fled. Winning in this race of two participants, of course, the younger and stronger Carter. The American media complacently write: "Our dear President is in good shape and could easily come first, and General Secretary Brezhnev got only the last!" The Russian media wrote: "In the held competitions in Washington, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev came to the finish second . President of the United States Jimmy Carter left only to be content with his penultimate place. "
Antidote: Check the information, do not hesitate to ask clarifying questions and find out the details.
2. Emotional infection
This technology of manipulation is based on such a property of the human psyche as emotional contamination. It is known that a person builds certain protective barriers in the way of obtaining undesirable information for him. To circumvent such a barrier (censorship of the psyche), it is necessary to direct manipulative influence on feelings.
Thus, by "charging" the necessary information with the necessary emotions, it is possible to overcome the mind barrier and cause in the person an explosion of passions, forcing him to worry about what he heard. This technique of manipulation is used during a series of reality shows, when participants speak in elevated tones and show sometimes considerable emotional excitement. This forces viewers to watch for ever the twists and turns of the events demonstrated, empathizing with the main characters.
Antidote: Separate the grain from the chaff. It is necessary to separate the emotional message and the content aspect of the information. If there is an opportunity to postpone the decision-making, it is better to consider the question of expediency later, in a more calm and adequate emotional state, following the rule "the morning is wiser than the evening".
3. "Psychological Aikido"
Depending on the filing of the same materials, you can achieve different, sometimes conflicting opinions of the audience. That is, some event can be artificially "not noticed", but something, on the contrary, given increased attention.
The tremendous advantage of the principle is not only that it works effectively, but also that its use is almost imperceptible to the unprepared person.
Antidote: Check if your current position is consistent with your strategic principles and priorities. Compare your position before and after receiving additional external information that has changed your perception of what is happening. Analyze the reliability, importance and significance of information brought from outside.
4. Avoiding discussion
Such manipulative action is carried out with demonstrative use of offense. For example, "... it is impossible to discuss constructively serious questions with you ...", etc.
The breakdown of the discussion by the method of provoking a conflict is carried out with the help of a variety of ways to get the opponent out of himself, when the discussion turns into an ordinary squabble, completely unrelated to the original topic.
Antidote: Keep emotional calmness, self-control and self-control. Explain to yourself that this trick is a provocation of the aggressor and will not work, because you have already identified it. Do not be angry with the aggressor himself for allowing himself such an injustice. That is his nature.
5. Artificial displacement of the dispute
In this case, having started discussing any position, the manipulator tries not to give arguments, but suggests immediately to proceed to their refutation. Thus, the possibility for criticism of the position of the manipulator is limited, and the dispute itself is shifted to the argument of the opposite side. In this case, the manipulator does not provide its system of proofs.
Antidote: Return the dialogue to the direction you need. Remember the effect of your field in football. In communication, "his field" is even more important. Do not give the initiative and go back to "yourself" and the chosen position.
6. Flow of questions
In the case of this manipulative reception, the object is asked several different questions on the same topic at once. In the future, depending on his response, they are accused of not understanding the essence of the problem or that they have not answered the question completely, or in an attempt to mislead.
Antidote: Speak about what you think is more appropriate to answer questions consistently, and concentrate your answers on the topic you have chosen. In case of aggressive pressure, ignore the following questions and continue to calmly respond to the one you choose or pause until the flow of questions runs out. Possible options for actively discrediting the manipulator. For example, take a sheet and start recording questions with a commentary, as in a well-known comedy: "Can I slow down, I write down ..."
Unfortunately, the more useful the information, the more words you need to express it. This is a capacious and great message. But I hope there are people who will benefit from it.
Remain armed with knowledge. And most importantly, in any situation, stay calm and think about every step.