Thought Manipulation: The Use and Abuse of Psychological Trickery

(Hardback)

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This thoroughly intriguing volume explains the many ways our thoughts are manipulated through temptation, distraction, misdirection, and more. From politics to sales, education, romance, and parenthood, everyone playswittingly or notthe roles of manipulator or manipulated. Thought Manipulation: The Use and Abuse of Psychological Trickery offers a thorough understanding of the art of manipulation, leading readers on a fascinating journey into the gray areas of ethics, politics, leadership, advertising, psychotherapy, and intimate relationships. The book explains how manipulation works, exploring morally questionable tricks, such as temptation, distraction, and misdirection and introducing manipulative strategies, both simple and sophisticated. At the same time, the author allows that manipulation is not always a bad thing as any effective change in decision-making and human behavior cannot be achieved without employing it to at least a certain degree. Manipulation operates in an infinite variety of guises and situations. Sapir Handelman explains how we can resist such effects, with a focus on ethics and freedom of choice.

Reviews

Where are the boundaries between manipulation, weakness, and free choice Handelman, a fellow in peace and conflict resolution research at the University of Missouri, proposes that the phenomenon of manipulation can be used as a constructive tool, and outlines manipulative strategies used in politics, leadership, advertising, psychotherapy, and intimate relationships. To begin, the concept of manipulation is explained, and the challenges it presents to the open society are explored, with discussion of the characteristics and ethics of manipulation. Specific types of manipulation are then described, focusing on those that are designed to limit freedom of choice, in chapters on manipulation in advertising, politics, and leadership. The third part of the book looks at manipulations that are geared toward helping us discover new options and horizons, such as the manipulation found in therapy. * Reference & Research Book News *

Author Bio

Sapir Handelman is an Israeli Associate at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and Lentz Fellow in Peace and Conflict Resolution Research at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.