Page 63 - How To Analyze People: 13 Laws About the Manipulation of the Human Mind, 7 Strategies to Quickly Figure Out Body Language, Dive into Dark Psychology and Persuasion for Making People Do What You Want

they want, it becomes easy for the parent to forget what’s really
going on when they want to give in to their child and make them

happy.

It allows the manipulator to be the proverbial wolf in sheep’s
clothing. Manipulators with these covert-aggressive personality
types work hard and keeping their aggressive behavior well and
truly hidden behind a mask that prevents others from seeing

what’s really going on. They hide their less than honorable
intentions behind the guise of being charming and a personality
so likable it’s hard to believe that underneath that layer is an
aggressive and ruthless personality just waiting to take you

down. They know how to pick just the right victims to target too,
often going for those who are more openly vulnerable than
others, conscientious or those with a softer, more sensitive nature
that’s easier to take advantage of and less likely to fight back.

Here’s an example of what covert-aggression might look like in a husband

and wife scenario. Let’s say that the wife (the victim) one day decides to
have a conversation with her husband (the manipulator) about the fact that

he is not spending enough time with her and the kids that she would like

him to, and she’s concerned that he is missing out on quality family time

with the kids. The husband immediately responds by making himself out to

be the victim in this situation by pointing out how he feels pressured by the
wife who “constantly” makes unreasonable demands. He then goes on to

portray himself as the one who is suffering and underappreciated because

“no one” seems to be feeling grateful or acknowledging how hard he works

to support the family. The husband then rounds it off by delivering the

knockout punch which includes shame and making the wife feel guilty by
claiming that all she seems to do is complain and nothing he does is ever

good enough for her. The wife, who started off with a completely different