The Student Room Group

Manipulation

Probably too much analysing going on in here...

Would you conside the act of manipulation immoral or moral? good or bad?
Such examples would be, manipulating someone into giving out information about themselves which you plan to use later on without them realising it now.
What happens if you had planned to use the information later on to make them feel better about themselves?
What about taking those facts to make them appreciate you, basically intentionally manipulating someone to like you? Is it wrong?
I suppose white lies would come under manipulation?

Discuss? I'm curious of what other people think.

*edit*

The real reason I had posted this was because I seem to have conflict with the idea of conciously doing something to make other people appreciate you or getting them to give out information unknowingly.
I don't seem to have any problems with becoming friends if I were to act myself and not apply these techniques conciously like speaking better of them.

So all down to this, is there something wrong with my logic... or am I just worrying about nothing?

Reply 1

You would have to be abit more specific for anyone to be able to answer what sort of manipulation your using.
Manipulation probablly isn't the word your after perhaps your more thinking of persuading????
As Manipulation is a form of forcing someone into doing or thinking what you want, and therefore this would be wrong unless it was for entertainment purposes like Derren Brown

Reply 2

Sanity Panda
Probably too much analysing going on in here...

Would you conside the act of manipulation immoral or moral? good or bad?
Such examples would be, manipulating someone into giving out information about themselves which you plan to use later on without them realising it now.

Bad.

Sanity Panda
What happens if you had planned to use the information later on to make them feel better about themselves?

Acceptable.

Sanity Panda
What about taking those facts to make them appreciate you, basically intentionally manipulating someone to like you? Is it wrong?

Depends. Manipulating them to like you when you shouldn't be liked? Bad. Manipulating them to like you when you are likeable and they were being unfair? Fine.

Sanity Panda
I suppose white lies would come under manipulation?

Mostly bad.

Sanity Panda
Discuss? I'm curious of what other people think.

Post in the D&D forum if you want a dicussion... hence the title. :p: You'll get a better response.

Reply 3

unless you want to be hated, you are always manipulating anyone you meet to some extent (whether its done consciously or not is another question). knowingly manipulating someone for purely your own personal gain is wrong but if you are just trying to make a friend and maybe exaggerating similar interests, i don't think there is anything wrong with that.

you are only 100% compatable with very very few people in this world, perhaps noone. so it takes some work from both sides of any sort of relationship to stay in eachothers good books

Reply 4

Your right... we're all doing it by being nicer towards those that we are friendly with.

The real reason I had posted this was because I seem to have conflict with the idea of conciously doing something to make other people appreciate you or getting them to give out information unknowingly.
I don't seem to have any problems with becoming friends if I were to act myself and not apply these techniques conciously like speaking better of them.

So all down to this, is there something wrong with my logic... or am I just worrying about nothing?