Principles of Manipulation

The 6 Principles of Manipulation that drive our automatic decision making.

Have you been taken advantage of ? You probably have, without even knowing it.

The 6 principles are as follows:

1. Consistency

“Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. Reciprocation

“You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.”

– American idiom

3. Social Proof

“If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?”

– Everyone’s mom ever

4. Authority

Han Solo: Look, Your Worshipfulness, let’s get one thing straight. I take orders from just one person: me.

Princess Leia: It’s a wonder you’re still alive.

– Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope

5. Liking

“I can tell that we are gonna be friends.”

– The White Stripes

6. Scarcity

“For the vast majority of world history, human life – both culture and biology – was shaped by scarcity. Food, clothing, shelter, tools, and pretty much everything else had to be farmed or fabricated, at a very high cost in time and energy.”

– Martha Beck

• An attempt to select principles must be confined to discussion of prime , The definition of the word 'manipulation' is by no means agreed.

• Persuasion is not Manipulation - Manipulation is coercion through force to get someone to do something that is not in their own interest.