I have been observing lately and thinking a lot about how some people influence and manipulate others. Influence is guiding someone and respecting their ability to choose. Manipulation can be more about steering someone unfairly for the manipulator’s benefit.
I have influenced students because I have been a music teacher, so I can help people with goals, discipline, and skill development.
The Ethical Difference Between Influence and Manipulation
- When you influence someone, it is transparent. Manipulation is more covert and can be done to protect the manipulator and not the other person.
- When you influence, there are mutual benefits. Manipulation is often one-sided.
- Influence is done through knowledge and understanding. Manipulation is exploitation.
- Influence is honest. Manipulation is deception and distorting the truth.
Examples of influence are:
- A teacher motivating students
- Recommending a career path to a friend
- Inspiring a team toward a goal.
Examples of manipulation are:
- Getting someone to comply by using guilt
- Controlling the decision
- Intentionally exploiting someone’s fears or vulnerabilities
- Gaslighting a person, such as intentionally pretending something never happened, unfairly accusing the other person of overreacting, and saying they are the problem.
Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay
Final Thoughts
I didn’t understand the difference between these two, but now I know that influence is mutual, based on respect and choices. However, manipulation is different. It is based more on exploitation and is designed to benefit one person at the expense of the other.
Sources and Further Reading:
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/ethics-manipulation
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