6.6. Summary
Manipulation is a key component to social engineering as well as influence. This chapter covered areas of human behavior that spanned decades of research from some of the smartest minds on earth.
Common reactions to the thought of manipulating others might be:
"I don't want to manipulate people."
"It feels wrong to be learning this."
These comments represent the way most people think when they hear the word manipulation. Hopefully, you're now convinced that manipulation isn't always a dark art and can be used for good.
The world of influence has been dissected, researched, and analyzed by some of today's brightest psychologists and researchers. This research served as the basis of my own research to develop the information in this chapter. The section on framing, for instance, can truly change the way you interact with people, and the concept of reciprocation can shape your thinking as a social engineer and how you utilize influence. Influence is such an amazing topic, though, that volumes of books are devoted to that topic alone.
Understanding what triggers a person to motivate him to want to do a certain action and then having that action seem good to the target—that is the power of influence.
This chapter illuminated the science and psychology of what makes people ...