PSYCHOMANIPULATION - Tomasz Witkowski

with. Just to prevent his current state of health from deteriorating even further, he needs constant
rehabilitation. He is applying for disability benefit, but even if he gets it, he will not have enough
money to repay his debts or for the constant medical treatment which his condition requires.
How do we react to the situation of these two men? Do we feel equally sorry for both of
them, or do we perhaps feel more sympathy for the second one, and if so, why? The answer
seems to be straightforward enough. In the first case, our friend was responsible for his own
misfortunes. Had he acted differently, he would not have ended up in the same way. By contrast,
our other friend was the victim of an unfortunate combination of circumstances. He had no
control, or very limited control, over his destiny. It would seem therefore that our sympathy
depends on the causes of the present situation of each one.
Let us further suppose that these two people ask us for help. Will we be willing to help
them? If so, both of them or, more probably, only the second one? At this point we have arrived
at the essential feature of the next group of manipulative techniques – the sense of perceived
control. It turns out that our evaluation of a situation depends on how we perceive the causes of
events. The phenomenon of perceived causes has received considerable attention in
psychological studies, and it is described by theories of attribution.17 However, we are
concerned only with so-called freedom of choice in making decisions and its influence on our
behaviour. We have already seen that people are more inclined to help, or at least to feel
sympathy for someone who had no control over his circumstances. So, the chain of events is as
follows: first we evaluate the freedom of choice of a person in a given situation, and then we
decide on our own behaviour. What happens if we apply this for the purposes of manipulation?
I found an answer to this question in a television programme broadcast by Nova, the
Czech TV station. This included situations which were filmed by a hidden camera. In one of
17 Readers interested in these issues can refer to the sources quoted in this book, for example:
17 M. Hłasko, Piękni dwudziestoletni(20th Century Beauties). Kos Publishers, Krakow 1981.
17 J. Paradowska Divisions on all Sides. "Polityka" 24, 2000 p. 15.
17 M. Twain, Inter-planetary Travels.
17 Ibid.
17 Ibid.
17 Science and Behaviour Books, Inc., 1972.
E. Aronson, T. D. Wilson, R. M. Akert, Psychologia społeczna. Serce i umysł (Social Psychology. Heart and Mind).
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