Manipulation Tactics Flashcards
Gaslight
When someone seeks to make another person doubt their perception of reality, their own memory, or their sanity. This undermines the victim’s confidence and judgement by deploying confusing lies, withholding information, and shifting the blame onto another whilst denying their side of the story.
Guilt Trip
When a manipulator makes a victim feel bad about themselves, their actions, or lack thereof, in a particular situation.
Isolation
When a manipulator cuts a victim off from their friends or family, the core support network that exists to interfere with a manipulator’s plans. This undermines the relationship that a victim has with a loved one and slowly turns them against their friends and family, convincing them that the people they know are not good for their well-being. A manipulator also creates dependency within their victim by making them think that they need their support or approval, instilling fear into the victim so they think they can’t survive without them.
Love Bomb
A deceptive tactic where the manipulator will shower their victim with affection, attention, and praise to incite the false notion that they are loved. This often makes use of excessive compliments, gifts, and frequent talks of an extravagant future together. The manipulator expresses intense emotions to make the victim feel like they are the most important person in the abuser’s life when, in reality, the only such reason that they are receiving such false positivity is so that the abuser can quickly gain power and control. Individuals who love bomb will get the victim heavily attached to praise and take it away at a moment’s notice, causing the abused to crave it and be more susceptible to a manipulator’s requests.
Play Victim
A tactic used to avoid taking responsibility for something by adopting the role of the wronged or hurt, whilst being guilty in reality. This occurs by blaming others for one’s actions and seeking sympathy through exaggeration of their issues without holding responsibility or admitting any wrongdoing. This can be a very effective strategy, as it requires the other person to attack the manipulator in order to regain control, thus making the “victim” out to be just that.
Threats and Coercion
There are a few key forms of this, such as physical violence or damage to property, occurring when a victim fails to fulfill a manipulator’s desires.
Emotional threats often bring a person’s relationships or reputation into play in order to achieve authority.
Financial threats are when someone withholds financial support or threatens another’s monetary stability.
Social threats are a more specific portion of an emotional threat, focusing solely on the intent to damage a victim’s reputation.
Silent Treatment
The practice of withholding information or communication with an individual as a form of punishment. This can also manifest as avoiding eye contact or ignoring the victim’s presence— or existence— entirely.
Ghosting
A passive and disrespectful way to end a relationship permanently, causing feelings of lost closure, rejection, or abandonment in a victim.
Shame: Public humiliation happens when an abuser makes negative comments about another person in the presence of others or online with the intention of embarrassing them. This can come in forms of comparison, mocking, and exclusion from social activities or events.
Triangulation
The introduction of a third party to create jealousy or competition within the victim, creating the sentiment that they must compete for the manipulator’s attention or favour.
Aggressive Jokes
Appalling statements dressed as jokes so an abuser can escape with these offenses whilst maintaining an innocent or cool demeanor. When the abused may get enraged at such remarks, they will be accused of having no sense of humour. These comments often spread through groups of people, causing others to become aggressors.
Emotional Blackmail: When a manipulator uses threats, guilt, or other modes of emotional manipulation to gain control over a victim.
Projection
The attribution of one’s own thoughts and feelings into someone else, making them believe that they are guilty of what the abuser feels or has done. This is also known as victim blaming. Oftentimes, the manipulator is guilty of the exact same behaviours that the victim is shunned for, especially when unaware of this facts
Deflect: The abuser is completely aware of their own hypocrisy and is deflecting it onto another to avoid responsibility or repercussions.
Smear Campaigns
The accusation of the public or general media having tarnishing one’s name or image for some sort of reward. This manifests itself as rumours, gossip, and the mutilation of the victim’s actions or statements to fit a particular agenda. Another main facet of this manipulation tactic is character assassination.
“Shifting the Goalpost”
When an abuser alters their criteria or standards for success and achievement in order to avoid wrongdoing or responsibility.
Subject Change
The process of changing the focus of a conversation in order to further an agenda or desired outcome.
Fake Morality
When a manipulator pretends to have high morals and values in order to gain power and control of others.
