The master manipulators of the world are none other than the predatory psychopath. How do psychopaths manipulate? Armed with a unique set of skills that insulates their active biology and consciousness from cues that would hinder other humans from exploiting and victimizing anyone for entertainment or profit, the psychopath is specially qualified for masterful manipulation.
How Do Psychopaths Manipulate Their Prey?
1. Psychopathic Stories and Lies
Highly creative and manipulative psychopaths can tell you exactly what you want to hear so that you will take the necessary actions to support them in projects or will leave yourself vulnerable so they can exploit you or use you to support them in the victimization of someone else unbeknownst to you.
No one spins a fictitious tale better than the psychopath. They have an uncanny ability to tell bold-faced lies right to your face with no telltale signs like you might notice from a normal person. Even the best forensic scientists with the best lie detection equipment and technology are stumped by how prolific and effective liars psychopaths can be (though some are better than others). Those who excel at deception can easily pass a lie detector test.
The ability to lie undetectably combined with the ability to tell tall tales with such amazing detail leaves anyone dumbfounded. The stories can be so detailed, that most people give up trying to ascertain whether any of the details are verifiable just to get them to stop flapping their trap. The best of the best psychopaths can remember every detail of every lie they’ve told so that they can repeat the lies they’ve told precisely years later.
And they don’t have to lie to deceive as they are masters of omission. This is to say that they will tell stories of explicit detail, without disclosing key components that would have red flags popping up all over town. But you will never know that part, and again you will be so overwhelmed by the rest of the specifics, that you will soon be exhausted and be willing to abort the entire interrogation.
2. Psychopath’s Victim Role Assimilation
This is a clever manipulation tactic, whereby the psychopath disarms his or her victim by assuming the position of the “victim” well in advance of any hint of victimization that has been uncovered due to the psychopath’s works and deeds.
He or she will tell you tales of how he or she suffered at the hands of fate, just happened to be the innocent who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, when so-and-so took place. They will present themselves as the best people with compassionate and giving hearts that have suffered consequences due to some corrupt system or evil force.
And you will be convinced that the same thing would have happened to you if you were in the same circumstance. Some things just happen, like acts of God, and you just have to do whatever you have to do to get through the whole ordeal, like signing a plea deal, where you admit to something that you didn’t do, just so you can get back to work or your family.
“Yes, I said I did it, but I was being pressured as a victim of a system that is broken. There was no other way out, and you would have done the same thing if you were in that position.”
They will assert their innocence based on their not knowing any better. They didn’t know what to do. They panicked, or were confused, blindsided, or were worn down by the weight of the situation. This is a tactic that is also used when confronted about some newfound undisclosed detail. They will use their cunning wit to rationalize the situation.
They will justify their actions by trying to develop storylines that infer that had you been in the same circumstance you might have done the same thing, or at the very least you will feel sorry for him or her for having to endure such an ordeal, as they cash-in on your ability to have empathy and compassion for someone who has suffered unjustly.
If confronted about an inconsistency, they will reply with being appalled at the idea that you might even stoop to accusing them of such a thing, over-exaggerating your words and spinning them around on you. Or diverting the accusation into a completely different conversation about a keyword that you used that is totally off-topic in an effort to confuse you and leave you reeling in a mental fog as they overpower and dominate the conversation, while they rant and rave.
3. Devaluization by Psychopaths
This category includes the many methods used to devalue you. If you offer input to any conversation that the psychopath deems unworthy, or suggest statistical data or information that the psychopath does not want to hear, they will immediately blow you off with an eye-roll or pshaw, or some other condescending indication that your input would be too ridiculous to consider, or warrants being unrecognized and ignored altogether.
All this to disempower you and make you feel small and insignificant.
Oh, and if you happen to taste good favor in life for anything, the psychopath will reinforce your win very softly and privately (if at all), but if you make one misstep or befall some humiliating circumstance, he or she will shout it from the rooftops.
The psychopath has been paying very close attention to you and has a growing knowledge base of what things you are sensitive to and what buttons to push to set you off. He or she will intentionally slip these keywords into phrases to trigger you emotionally, only to defend him or herself with, “That’s not what I meant,” followed by some slick rationalization, that will leave you feeling like you bad about overreacting, placing themselves in a place of superiority over you.
Your thoughts, feelings, and concerns are completely invalidated, or you must be losing your mind, possibly severely depressed, or on the verge of insanity.
If you tell the psychopath about some group that you might like to join that will have a positive impact on your life, anything from a knitting circle to Toastmasters, he or she will put down the idea, indicating that such affairs are only for the weak-minded. Any creative or artistic endeavors will also be diminished or discarded as foolish or childish endeavors.
The idea here is to keep you isolated and dependent on the psychopath for all your needs, giving him or her complete control over you (a psychopath’s dream come true). How dare you seek personal validation outside the psychopathic relationship.
These are ways that they suck the life force out of you, like an energy vampire.
4. Psychopaths Beat You Down
They may not physically assault you, but they will beat you down mentally, emotionally, and spiritually so that when they are done with you, you have nothing left to live for. They consciously determine to deliver the beatdown in the beginning, when they are sizing you up as a potential victim, so they are paying very close attention to all your sensitivities and what they perceive to be your weaknesses to use them against you.
If you are a respectable and nice person, they will try to apply guilt to any scenario as a method of mind control. They might try to point out that you are too egotistical and selfish to be any good to anyone else. Or they will compare your level of comfort to those who have less to make you feel guilty or ashamed. And just when you are feeling like everything is going okay, they will knock you off that horse of contentment so fast it will make your head spin.
Just try to experience a state of happiness, the psychopath will interrupt your joyous state, and try to initiate a state of shame or fear. After being exposed to this type of psychopathic manipulation for a while, you will begin to avoid any state of happiness because it is too complicated or stressful.
Any time you think about reaching out to friends or professionals for advice, they will interject themselves to break down your connection to others. Why? Because the psychopath wants to be your only source for support. They are setting you up for the day that you are left wounded and alone with no one there to lean on or come to your aid.
What if your friend reaches out to you in an effort to maintain a connection with you? How dare you seek out support from anyone else but your psychopath! He or she will accuse you of being spineless, dependent, and insist that you should grow up and start thinking for yourself. And if that doesn’t work, he or she will demonize your friend. Until you are frightened and afraid, either of your former friend or the stress applied, or pain suffered by the psychopath.
The whole idea is to maintain your complete dependence on the psychopath for survival and to establish your worthlessness without the psychopath there to hold you up.
5. The Psychopath’s Build and Crush Tactic
Psychopaths enjoy building up your sense of self-confidence, just to crush all your hopes and dreams in the next breath. And if that’s not devastating enough, they will come to your rescue to “save you” from your desperation, only to build you up and crush you again.
6. The Psychopath Silence that Kills
Psychopaths are the kings and queens of the silent treatment.
Nobody ghosts better than the psychopath. They know that effectively placed silence will not only try one’s patience but trigger every negative emotion of a properly programmed victim, setting off a state of unbridled panic and rage.
7. How Do Psychopaths Manipulate by Threatening?
Threats made by the psychopath can include threats of violence, but far worse are the non-blatant threats that are more covert. Like, the psychopath doesn’t just come out and threaten you, your family, your friends, your reputation, or your livelihood openly. Only by disrespectful spoken words, tone of voice, body language, or facial expression. They may say one thing, but their whole being is communicating a threatening message that initiates fear and triggers your inner defense systems.
Keeping a victim under surveillance or asserting a “knowing” of what is going on inside the mind of psychopath victims can be threatening, as can veiled threats that permeate their instruction and advice while looking innocent and caring to anyone viewing the interaction from the outside, but you know what is really going on.
Psychopaths used these veiled threats and bullying to intimidate, erode your self-confidence, and keep you in a fearful state to assert their abusive power and control, leaving you feeling like you only one option: Submit or suffer the consequences.
8. Objectifying by Psychopaths
You are barely even valued as a human being at all. Your existence is reduced to simply a form of supply for the psychopath’s needs or desires. Your only value might be to satisfy the psychopath’s sexual needs, or your destruction serves as a source of entertainment. Or he or she would make you believe you are a victim with no other purpose in life than to be victimized, if you have no value, then you might as well be dead, for what would be the purpose of living otherwise? If you are not supplying, you are a waste of resources.
Anything to dehumanize you, to have no sense of worth, and if applied heavily and consistent enough, after the psychopath is done with you, the expectation would be that you would take your own life, which would seem appropriate and desired by the psychopath, patting him or her self on the back for a job well done.
9. Psychopathic Brainwashing
An extremely accomplished predatory psychopath can effectively kill anything that once existed as “individuality” in any normal person. Through consistent desensitization and objectification, the victim’s mind can basically be wiped clean, leaving a blank slate for the psychopath to write anything he or she wants to write on the heart and mind of the victim.
In this state, the victim can be virtually reprogrammed to accept any belief or ideal social parameters that the psychopath desires to imprint on the victim’s being. In this state, any self that existed prior to encountering the psychopath is effectively erased, and the brainwashed victim lives only to serve the predatory psychopath.
10. Psychopath-inspired Martyrdom
Any effectively brainwashed victim can be lured into a selfless state of martyrdom, where they feel that their only function in life is to suffer at the hands of the psychopath or in service to the psychopath, and they would gladly give their life to protect the psychopath or his or her ideals.
How do psychopaths manipulate?
The Top 10 Psychopathic Victim Manipulations
1. Stories and Lies
2. Victim Role Assimilation
3. Devaluization
4. Beat You Down
5. Build and Crush
6. Silence that Kills
7. Threatening
8. Objectifying
9. Brainwashing
10. Martyrdom
And this is just scratching the surface, if you do a Google search for psychopath manipulation tactics, you will find over a quarter of a million matches.
All this to say that the best thing you can do is to stop the psychopathic manipulation as soon as possible. The sooner the better, because it will take everything the victim or you have to break the psychopath’s control and take your life back.
Psychopaths are often manipulative because they lack empathy and are focused solely on their own needs and desires. They may view others as objects to be manipulated in order to get what they want, without regard for the other person’s well-being. They may also be skilled at reading others and using that information to their advantage.
Psychopaths may size up potential victims based on a variety of factors, such as their level of vulnerability, their willingness to trust others, or their desire for attention or validation. They may also look for individuals who are easily influenced or who lack a strong support system.
While it can be difficult to completely avoid being targeted by a predatory psychopath, there are steps that individuals can take to reduce their risk. These may include:
1. Being aware of the signs of psychopathic behavior, such as manipulation, lying, and lack of empathy can give you an edge, enough awareness to be wary of the psychopath who may be looking for someone to prey upon.
2. Trusting your instincts and being cautious around individuals who seem too good to be true or who make you feel uncomfortable.
3. Maintaining a strong support system of family and friends who can help you recognize and respond to potential threats.
4. Being assertive and setting clear boundaries in your relationships, and not allowing others to take advantage of you.
5. Educating yourself about psychopathy and how it may manifest in individuals so that you can be better prepared to identify potential risks.
It’s important to remember that psychopathic behavior is not the fault of the victim. However, by being aware and taking steps to protect themselves, individuals may be able to reduce their risk of being targeted by a psychopath.