5 Psychological Tricks Manipulators Use to Influence Your Decisions—and How to Outsmart Them

Discover 5 powerful mind tricks rooted in psychology that manipulators use—and how you can recognize and overcome them to make smarter, more confident decisions.

Manipulators often exploit psychological effects to lure their victims into making wrong choices. 

Manipulation doesn’t always look obvious. In fact, the most effective manipulators use subtle psychological tricks to steer your thoughts, feelings, and decisions. These tactics are rooted in cognitive biases and psychological phenomena that affect everyone, no matter how self-aware you think you are. 

Understanding the tactics used by manipulators or the cognitive bias they use to trap their victims will not only help you overcome manipulation; but will also help you make good decisions and see things differently.

This article will explore some of the secrets used to manipulate others, gives you tips on how you can apply the tricks positively for informed decision-making, and how you can outsmart those who try to manipulate you.

Below are 5 Mind Effects that manipulators use and how to outsmart them and make better decisions:

1. Affinity bias

Affinity bias is an unconscious tendency to naturally favor people who are like us or share similar interest, background or experience with us. For instance, you are attending a new school in another country and your colleagues begin to introduce themselves. Assuming one of them happens to come from your country or your exact location, you are more likely to create bond or even treat them nicer than others. This happens also at workplace where even more qualified people lose opportunity because one of the candidates happen to share a common attribute with the interviewer or the recruitment manager.

"Trusting people who feel familiar can cloud our judgment and lead to betrayal."

To take advantage of this, try to know more about people around you, especially if you need favour from them. Knowing more about them can help you realize what you share in common which gives you advantage during discussion or while engaging in a negotiation with them.

• How to outsmart manipulators using affinity bias

Manipulators often try to play nice and pretend like they share a common interest with their victims. They can even form stories based on the information they were able to gather about you. To avoid being manipulated through this way, try not to be bias in most of your dealings. Yes, it is fine to be nice with people who are like us; but also note that someone can use that to take advantage of you, when they are not genuine.

2. Anchoring effect

Anchor effect is a psychological phenomenon in which individuals make judgment or take decision based on a reference point or the first information they received (anchor). For instance, assuming someone is buying you clothes, and you informed the person that your cloth costs $10, and later realized that the price is $20, the person may not feel comfortable with the new price. Even if he wanted to spend more on your clothes, it may be limited to say $50. However, if you have told the same individual that the cost of your cloth is $500, he would be so happy if the price is beaten down to $200.

"Initial information anchors your thoughts and can mislead your entire decision."

Sellers often take advantage of anchor effect to manipulate customers during price negotiation. Assuming something is worth $5, they may likely place the initial price at $30. The customer would be the one beginning to price from $10. The seller may end up accepting, say, $15. While you as the customer leave happily for beating the price to half, the reality is that you have just lost a whopping $10 to something that is $5 worth. A spouse, say a wife, who understands anchoring effect can manipulate you to the point you are begging her to manage $200 because she gave you the cost of $500, not knowing that what she actually needed was the exact $100.

• How you can be manipulated through anchor effect

Manipulators can make you hate even people you met for the first time by giving you false information about them, which may influence your judgment. 

• How to overcome anchor effect manipulation

To beat such manipulation resulting from anchoring effect, don’t rely so much on the fast piece of information you get, rather seek the right data which will enable you to make informed decision. Otherwise, stick to your projection or what your mind thinks. 

3. Halo effect

When you meet a beautifully looking lady, you feel attracted and begin to assume that she is intelligent and good mannered just because of the beauty attribute. Also, characteristics like eloquence can make you think someone is financially fit, well to do or from a wealthy background or highly educated. Meanwhile, your assumption may not be true. Even an individual that appears dull and ugly can even be smarter and wealthier.

"First impression can fool you"

Not understanding this effect makes it easy for someone to manipulate you. For instance, those who understand halo effect place so much energy on first impression. The first impression people have about you is what they might always use to define you.

People would mostly choose you based on the first impression you give them. This is why it is good to dress well, smell nice and speak confidently and act nice. It makes people give you the first consideration despite that you may have so much weakness. No matter how wealthy, intelligent, nice or sweet you are. The first impression matters, and it is a consequence of the halo effect.

• How manipulators use halo effect:

Manipulators play nice, dress good and even use other positive attributes to give others that first impression. They can appear rich or intelligent when they are not. Even someone that wants to steal your property can act nice and gentle just to get your trust and make you believe he/she is a good individual.

• How to outsmart halo effect and make better decision:

Do not judge people only based on their physical attributes or from urgent encounter. Study behavior, lifestyle and give yourself time to learn about people before you reach conclusion. All that glitter is not diamond.

3. Baader-Mainhoff phenomenon (frequency illusion or the red card theory)

Also known as frequency illusion or sometimes jokingly called the red card theory, the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon occurs when something you've just learned about or started thinking about suddenly seems to appear everywhere.

"What your mind focuses on, your thoughts, greatly influence your decision and your entire life."

Note: Learn about how your thoughts influence your reality. 

When you want to buy a certain car model, you begin to notice them all over the town. Or if you want to marry, you seem to see more social media posts, online videos and articles about marriage. It's not that these things magically increased—they were always there. Your brain is just now tuned in to notice them.

Therefore, when you know exactly what you want in life, there is a higher opportunity of getting it. You will start noticing the right people, knocking at the right doors and begin to feel like your eyes have just opened. The downside is that it can also have a negative implication. For instance, if you are constantly searching for bad thing or intending it, you may also find it.

• How manipulators apply Baader-Mainhoff phenomenon:

Manipulators can take advantage of this by planting certain ideas or topics in your mind, so you start seeing them more often and assume they are more common or important than they really are. For instance, if someone repeatedly mentions a person is "untrustworthy," you may begin noticing behaviors that confirm that, even if they’re not new.

• How to outsmart it frequency illusion:

Stay mindful of your focus. Your brain is powerful, and what you concentrate on can shape your perceptions. Be intentional about what you give mental attention to, because your mind will start validating it, whether it's truth or bias.

5. Messenger Effect

This is a cognitive bias that makes people accept the relevance or validity of information based on the authority of the source. For instance, information from popular news agency is deemed authentic than those from small blogs, even when the smaller blogs may offer the most accurate news.

"Believing the source of information because of their authority or the relationship with you instead of sourcing for the right message is the easiest way to become a victim of exploit and manipulation."

Messenger effect is also common in workplaces where ideas from junior employees are underrated even when such ideas may be valid and better. Even in families, members pay attention to what the richest member of the family says over when the poor or uneducated ones have to say. They assume the successful family member has better ideas. We often assume that people who have more experience, authority and proven records have better ideas and information.

• How people can manipulate you through messenger effect and how to beat it:

When people want others to believe them, they ensure that such information is passed through an authority or platforms that people can believe. You can’t always assume something is true just because it is from a popular or respected source without confirming the authenticity of such information. People have used messenger effects in politics to gain public sympathy and support. Also, in the family, your most favorite family member can be used to make you do what you did not intend to do. In this case, manipulators can use your wife, or anyone favorite to you to pass information or get something from you.

Conclusion

Our decisions can be influenced by natural cognitive bias that we may not even realize. Most times, decisions made under the influence of psychological bias and sentiments do not end well. It makes you prone to manipulation and other people taking advantage of you. Therefore, it is important to learn about some of these cognitive biases and psychological effects in order to outsmart manipulation and decide better. It is also advisable to always learn and explore more to get informed so that your decision-making can be fact-based.