PSYCHOMANIPULATION - Tomasz Witkowski

The second reason why it is difficult to write about manipulation is that there is a whole
series of false pre-conceptions on the subject. One of these is the conviction, totally unfounded
but one which I have often encountered in my work, that manipulation was invented by
psychologists and that only they have the keys to doors of the secret laboratory with its shelves
full of ready-to-use manipulative techniques. We can find a curious expression of this belief in
the first sentence of a web page about influencing colleagues at work: It's a well-kept secret that
entire science(sic) is devoted to how people are persuaded. 2 Are we really to believe that
biologists, as well as theoretical physicists, astronomers, geographers and many other scientists,
are all exclusively concerned with research into methods of influencing people? Such a
statement is laughable, as there is no attempt to tone it down in the following sentences, and
even after making allowance for the typical American inclination to exaggerate, it contains more
than a hint of conspiracy and immoderation. It is only a short step from there to the conviction
that everything is the result of a plot by freemasons or some other secret organization, at the
expense of the man on the street. That at least is the opinion expressed in a curious book by
Pascal Bernardin, entitled “Machiovelli the Teacher. Manipulation in Education. Reforms or
Plans for Destruction." 3 This book is based on a conspiracy theory, according to which most
psychological research, as well as the activities of organizations such as UNESCO, the United
Nations, the Council of Europe, etc. are all part of one huge manipulation. But while the claims
of Bernardin or of the Rev. Henryk Czepułkowski, who wrote the preface to the book, are
merely curious, astonishing or laughable, as neither of them is a recognized authority on social
psychology, the opinion expressed in the above quotation is much more dangerous, as the
website which it is taken from is, according to its authors, devoted to the scientific aspects of
exercising influence, and refers to the names of several important authorities in the field. The
website goes on to say: In this introduction, we approach the topic of influence from a scientific
viewpoint – you won’t hear us talking about our hunches, fabricating entertaining distinctions,
2 (My italics). See: http://www.influenceatwork.com/index.html.
3 ANTYK Marcin Dybowski Publishers, Komorów 1997.
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