PSYCHOMANIPULATION - Tomasz Witkowski

As in the preceding chapter, we will begin with a description of the psychological
research and the theoretical basis of the phenomena, and proceed to details of the individual
techniques and their practical application in the reality of social interaction.
MANIPULATING THROUGH EMOTIONS
The literature on manipulation pays very little attention to emotions, even though they are one of
the basic psychic processes. Emotions are the source of many positive experiences, but they also
cause disorganization in our behaviour. In addition, they can be used by others to control our
behaviour. The simplest form of manipulation involves the creation of stressful situations, for
example in the course of negotiations. A more refined method makes use of mood swings to
produce cognitive confusion, yielding significant concessions. This method has been the subject
of experiments conducted on the streets of Polish cities and in everyday situations, and it is
familiar to many as the “good guy-bad guy” interrogative technique shown in detective films.
However, its use is not confined to films or to the police force. It has also entered the canon of
unethical negotiating techniques.
Emotions are also the key to understanding the “door in the face” technique widely used
in everyday life, for example by spouses to obtain permission for unexpected purchases or by
policemen determining the size of a fine. The final technique based on emotions is the invocation
of a guilty conscience. This is also a widely used method for obtaining concessions in our
personal relationships as well as in politics.
MANIPULATING THROUGH THE SENSE OF CONTROL
We are no less ingenious in searching for good motives for our
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own bad deeds than in looking for bad motives of other people’s good deeds.
Charles Caleb Folton Lacon
Let’s imagine the following situation. You have run into a former schoolmate. As usually happens
in such cases, you start talking about the people you used to know. It turns out that two of your
former classmates have serious problems. Both are unemployed, their wives have left them, they
have piles of unpaid bills and are up to their ears in debt, and on top of this both have health