Instrumental Empathy: The Basis of Psychological Manipulation
Unravel the intricate dance between empathy and manipulation. Explore how the seemingly benign virtue of empathy can be instrumentally wielded for psychological manipulation, and delve into the mechanisms that underpin this paradoxical phenomenon.
Instrumental empathy is a trait that’s often characteristic of narcissistic or psychopathic people
They are able to identify and read the emotions of others better than you realize.
- Once they know how the people around them are feeling, they take advantage of this connection to manipulate them and fulfill their own objectives.
What can you do when someone doesn’t emotionally empathize with you?
You can’t compare instrumental empathy with emotional empathy.
- If you do ever come across someone who uses instrumental empathy, the best option is to keep your distance from them. You can protect your emotions by creating a safe personal barrier.
Instrumental empathy: I feel your pain, but I don’t care
Some people (and even primates) can understand the emotions of those around them and want to help them.
- On the other hand, others can identify those emotions, but choose not to do anything in response. They don’t feel the need to help.
Characteristics of instrumental empathy
People who use instrumental empathy are often extremely charming
- They convince others that their empathy is real and that their actions are noble
- Other characteristics include: cognitive empathy, empathy switching off and on, learning about other people’s insecurities to use them to manipulate them, and learning to be a manipulator
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