According to Jacques Regard, there is three types of manipulation which are distinguished by the specific and particular intention of the manipulator:

• La manipulation positive (called “type I”), where the intention of the manipulator is always good, useful or pleasant for the one who is the object of it.
• Self-centered manipulation (called “type II”), where the manipulator turns the world around his personal interests, without worrying about the consequences for his victims.
• Malicious manipulation (called “type III”) where the intention of the manipulator, paranoid, conscious and voluntary, is malice, the destruction of others.

Manipulation positive 

This type of manipulation is not always perceived as manipulation since its intention always appears to be good or pleasant. This is the case of a surprise made for a friend or a gift given to a child. This is also the case when a nurse says that everything will be fine before an injection, that a mother uses gentle persuasion to encourage her son to do his homework: ” If you finish your homework this morning you will have the whole afternoon to do what you want, otherwise you will have to spend the day there without being able to indulge yourself “. Finally, it is also the case of an individual who seeks to show the positive aspects of somethinga priori unpleasant: ” I’m going to have to come home late tonight, I have to stay at the office… It’s boring, but it will allow me to be on leave tomorrow at noon, that way we can go for the weekend earlier. ! “. The manipulation is undeniable, but the intention always starts from the heart, so it is in no way to be condemned but it can be useful to recognize it.

Self-centered manipulation

In this type of manipulation, the manipulator is an individual who only thinks about his interests, without worrying about others, nor about the discomfort that his behavior can generate. It is this manipulator who will do everything to sell encyclopedias to the elderly, without worrying about their interests, it is this manipulator who puts spades in the wheels of his colleagues to make himself “well seen” management or to obtain a promotion in their place. It is this manipulator who makes promises to be elected or this one, teacher, who terrifies his class to establish his authority. The Type II manipulator does not act out of spite, he does not seek to harm anyone: but by thinking only of his interests, he inevitably harms others.

Marketing has become an expert in this type of manipulation to get the customer to buy products.

When being offered a sample of pizza at the entrance of their supermarket, one in two people agreed to taste it. But if the demonstrator touched their arm while making his tasting proposal, two out of three people accepted his offer and, above all, twice as likely to put this same brand of pizza in their caddy. Extract from the Small treatise on manipulation for the use of honest people by RV Joule and J. Beauvois.

Malicious manipulation 

This last type of manipulation is marked by the manipulator’s conscious and voluntary attempt to destroy others. Its goal is to ruin the actions of an individual, to destroy an aspect of his personality, to harm his interests. It is malicious and concealed intent. 

Even if the manipulator can hide under very diverse and even familiar traits, the author Jacques Regard has identified a certain number of characteristics and character traits that manipulators can share.

• The manipulator is often imbued with an inordinate pride: he has a tendency to belittle others.
• He regularly uses disinformation, lies or slander.
• He insidiously harasses by never intervening directly, preferring to push others to act in his place.
• He always claims to act for a good cause and rarely admits his wrongs.
• He often speaks in a roundabout way, never stating anything categorically but sowing doubt in the minds of others.
• He spreads rumors and conveys the worst slander without ever giving the impression of doing so. He sometimes sends messages under the guise of frankness or awkwardness. He doesn’t say anything, just repeats what he heard or what the public rumor says.
• He gets instantly outraged when you try to unmask him. He assumes neither his words nor his deeds and turns everything to his advantage.
• He does not know how to listen to the problems of others except when it allows him to achieve one of his goals.
• He belittles a lot, often belittles, lies with incredible aplomb, is capable of contradicting himself or disavowing what he has just said a few minutes before.
• He likes to surround himself with incompetent people at work: “ by rewarding those who work poorly, he makes sure of allies who are very devoted to him because without him they would be nothing. “
• He depletes the energy of those who are in contact with him.