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Your life is full of conflicts. Whether at work, home or even socializing with friends, it’s impossible to avoid difficult situations that usually end up with you having to give in to someone else’s wishes.
With your best intentions and desires in mind, you always try to rise above the other person’s demands; however, there are times when you find yourself giving in to a person’s desires without any reasonable explanation.
Unfortunately, it happens more often than not and most of the time you don’t even realize it. That is because people who know how to manipulate use psychological tricks that make you do things against your own will. here are 12 of the most common tricks of manipulation and how to recognize them.
Once you know these powerful psychology tricks, you’ll be able to avoid any mind trap.
- The Foot-In-the-Door Method
When someone wants something from you and you refuse, they might try to wear you down with repeated requests. This method is called the “foot-in-the-door” because once a person gets a foot in your door by wearing you down, they can more easily convince you to let them in.
What You Should Do: The best thing to do is not to give in the first time and if they keep pushing for what they want, tell them no.
- The Door-In-the-Face Method
The “door-in-the-face” technique works by asking something huge of someone, then when they automatically refuse the asker rephrases to ask for something slightly less large. By refusing initially, then agreeing, people are more likely to agree with future requests because they’ve already made that agreement once before.
What You Should Do: If someone uses this technique on you, simply state your refusal and don’t make a compromise.
- The Ben Franklin Effect
The “Ben Franklin effect” is named for the famous politician who once said, “I do not love that man. But I will thank him as long as I live, because he convinced me to give up smoking.” He believed so much in this manipulation technique that he concluded his autobiography by saying, “In closing I cannot forget to mention the benefit from that admirable rule in The art of virtue, which directs us never to resent any evil done to us by others, but ever kindly to seek a remedy by committing evil on them.”
What You Should Do: If someone is angry with you or hates you, ask them for a favor. After they do it, they will like you more than before.
- The Scarcity Principle
If something is perceived as scarce or rare, people want it even more than when it was abundant. This is because scarcity creates a feeling of competition and the need to have whatever is being fought over.
What You Should Do: If someone uses this psychology trick on you, ask them where they got whatever is being restricted from you. This will let you know if the scarcity was real or manufactured by the person using it to control your behavior.
- The Psychology of Liking
People are more likely to agree with someone that they like because when people get along well, their lives are easier and far more pleasant.
What You Should Do: To avoid being manipulated by this technique, you can try to get to know the person better and find out how they really feel about you. If you don’t like them or if they don’t like you then there is no point of having a deal.
- The Psychology of Authority
People will obey authority figures even if they are asked to do something unreasonable. This works because people assume the person in charge knows what they’re doing and want to be liked by them.
What You Should Do: If you don’t trust the authority figure, ask a third party for help or advice. You can also explain your problems to the authority figure.
- The Psychology of Reciprocity
This is a tricky psychology trick in which people feel the need to repay in kind what another person has done for them and give back in some way that matches their relationship. This works because people want to be liked by others and because they feel indebted.
What You Should Do: Don’t become a pushover by giving the person who used the trick on you too much without getting something in return. This will make them believe that they can control you, which is not good for either of your relationships.
- The Psychology of Social Proof
People will believe something is correct or right if they see other people doing it. This works because people want to be liked and conform with others.
What You Should Do: If you don’t want people to use this trick on you, tell them honestly that you prefer to do things your way and follow your own path.
- The Psychology of Liking for Anonymity
People will want to do things more if they don’t know who will benefit from their acts and instead believe that a stranger will be the recipient of their good deeds. This works because people want to feel like they are part of a group even if it is anonymous.
What You Should Do: To avoid being manipulated by this trick, always try to remember that your actions will benefit someone you love.
- Commitment and Consistency trick
People will want to behave consistently with their past decisions or promises even if new information presents itself that shows that the new behavior is better than before. This works because people like to be consistent and don’t want to change their stories.
What You Should Do: To avoid having someone use this trick on you, always remember that the past doesn’t matter too much and what matters most is how you act right now.
- The Psychology of Scarcity for Valuable Things
People value their possessions even more if they think they are rare or hard to get. This works because people want to feel like they own something special and unique.
What You Should Do: If you don’t want to be manipulated by this trick, tell yourself that the thing is only valuable because it has a price and not because of its scarcity. The person will still get what they want from you even if your perception of value changes.
- The Psychology of Liking for Unfair Things
People will want to punish someone that they dislike even if it means hurting themselves. This works because people believe in fairness but punish unfairness against their own interests.
What You Should Do: If you don’t want this trick used on you, get informed about what is truly fair. This way, you will be sure not to use it on others.
What Did You Think?
Do you know of any other powerful manipulation tricks that we might have missed? Have you ever successfully used one of these tricks or been successfully manipulated by someone using them? Let us know in the comments below!