Manipulation Tactic: Envy Induction Category: Emotional Manipulation Red Flag Indicators Envy Induction is where a person lacks another's superior quality, achievement, or possession, and desires to have it or wishes the other person didn't have it. Envy Induction is the intentional behavior of a person to make their target experience this painful social comparison, often to gain a personal advantage, achieve a goal, or enhance their own sense of self-worth by witnessing the

Manipulation Tactic: Exploiting Insecurities Category: Emotional Manipulation Red Flag Indicators Exploiting insecurities intentionally uses another person's doubts, fears, vulnerabilities, or weakness to gain an advantage, control, or personal benefit. It is a key tactic in abusive and exploitative relationships—whether romantic, professional, or social—and fundamentally involves a power imbalance where one person seeks to elevate themselves by diminishing or controlling th

Manipulation Tactic:  Coercion Category:  Emotional Manipulation Red Flag Indicators Coercion is a form of pressure or manipulation used to compel an individual to act against their own free will. Psychological Characteristics Erosion of Autonomy: The core characteristic is the loss of the victim's self-determination—the ability to choose freely. The coercer aims to substitute the victim's goals with their own. Fear and Intimidation: The tactics used instill a pervasive fear

Manipulation Tactic: Shaming Category: Emotional Manipulation Red Flag Indicators Shaming the act of expressing contempt, ridicule, or criticism toward an individual or group making them feel humiliated, degraded, or deeply flawed as a person. Shame, is a self-conscious, painful feeling characterized by the perception that one's entire self is inadequate, unworthy, or fundamentally bad. Psychological Characteristics Self-Devaluation:  the feeling that a person is deficient,

Manipulation Tactic: Triangulation Category: Emotional Manipulation Red Flag Indicators Triangulation involves one person using a third party to control, divert attention, or gain an advantage in a relationship with another person. When stress or conflict arises between two people, they stop trying to resolve the issue directly. Instead, one or both individuals pull in a third person (who may be an intermediary, a messenger, a confidante, or a rival) to shift the focus, gain

Manipulation Tactic:  Reverse Psychology Category:  Emotional Manipulation Red Flag Indicator s Reverse psychology is a persuasion technique where you advocate for a belief or behavior that is the opposite of what you actually desire, expecting that the target will resist your stated position and, by doing the opposite, choose the outcome you truly wanted. Psychological Characteristics Psychological Reactance: When someone perceives they are being pressured, controlled, or pe