What Is Our Reality? How High-Level Manipulation Works
The Prince and the Magician
Once upon a time, there was a prince who believed in everything except for three things. He did not believe in princesses, he did not believe in islands, and he did not believe in God. The prince’s father, the king, told him that such things did not exist. In his father’s kingdom, there were no princesses, no islands, and no sign of God; and the prince believed his father.
But one day, the prince ran away from the palace and found himself in another country. In this country, he could see islands from any point on the coast, and on these islands were strange, exciting creatures that he didn’t dare to name. While he was looking for a boat, a man in evening attire approached him.
— Are those real islands? asked the young prince.
— Of course, those are real islands, replied the man in evening attire.
— And those strange, exciting creatures?
— Those are the most real, genuine princesses.
— Then God must exist too! exclaimed the prince.
— I am God, said the man in evening attire, bowing.
The young prince hurried home as fast as he could.
— So, you have returned, greeted the king, his father.
— I saw islands, I saw princesses, and I saw God, the prince said reproachfully.
The king replied firmly:
— In reality, there are no islands, no princesses, and no God.
— But I saw them!
— Tell me, what was God wearing?
— He was in evening attire.
— Were his jacket sleeves rolled up?
The prince remembered that the sleeves were indeed rolled up. The king smiled.
— That’s the usual attire of a magician. You were deceived.
So the prince returned to the other country, went to the same shore, and again met the man in evening attire.
— My father, the king, told me who you are, the prince said indignantly. Last time you tricked me, but this time it won’t work. Now I know these are not real islands and not real princesses, because you are just a magician.
The man on the shore smiled in response:
— You are the one who is deceived, my boy. In your father’s kingdom, there are plenty of islands and princesses. But your father has cast a spell on you, and you cannot see them.
The prince returned home, deep in thought. Seeing his father, he looked him straight in the eyes.
— Father, is it true that you are not a real king, but just a magician?
— Yes, my son, I am just a magician.
— Then was the man on the shore God?
— The man on the shore is another magician.
— I must know the truth, the truth that lies beyond magic!
— There is no truth beyond magic, declared the king.
The prince became very sad. He said, “I will kill myself.” Using magic, the king summoned Death. Death stood in the doorway and beckoned to the prince.
The prince shuddered. He remembered the beautiful but unreal princesses and the unreal but beautiful islands.
— What should I do, he said. I can bear this.
— There you go, my son, said the king, now you are beginning to become a magician yourself.
John Fowles
Low-Level and High-Level Manipulation
Manipulation can be divided into “low-level” and “high-level” types. (This concept is described in detail in the article Logical Levels of Psychological Influence.)
Low-level manipulation is what we usually mean when we say “make someone do something.” It’s called low-level because it operates on the lower logical levels. All sorts of street tricks, when people realize they’re being manipulated but can’t resist, as well as basic blackmail and insistence, fall into this category. Usually, in these cases, the person knows what is being asked of them but doesn’t want to do it themselves.
As a result of high-level manipulation, a person does what you want on their own initiative. They may want it, believe it’s necessary, or see it as a way to achieve their own goals—it doesn’t matter. What matters is that if you try to stop them, they’ll tell you not to interfere and continue what they’re doing. That’s because they have reasons or goals for doing it, and they BELIEVE in them.
The essence of high-level manipulation is creating a “reality” for a person that they believe in. And it doesn’t have to be a completely different reality. It’s enough to create just a few key details that define the rest of the “reality.” How is this possible? Let me explain.
Because people don’t have eyes in the back of their heads, the following rule applies: a person sees what they look at. That is, they choose what to see by turning their head or in some other way. And, as research has shown, when perceiving the world, a person receives only 20% of information from the outside, and 80% is filled in from memory.
This raises a question: What determines where a person looks and what information they use to fill in the missing 80%? They (or rather, we) must have some guiding criteria and attention filters, right?
They do. These are our unconscious goals, values, and beliefs. Unconscious goals—our desires and interests—direct our attention in everyday life. This mechanism is especially noticeable in supermarkets and shopping malls, and it’s quite amusing to watch people struggle between their unconscious and conscious goals. The outcome varies.
Conscious goals exist thanks to beliefs, which tell us what is right and wrong, and how we should or shouldn’t act.
Beliefs direct our attention just like desires and interests do, but through a conscious path. They also help us fill in 80% of our worldview. A belief is knowing that “this is how it is,” so it’s logical to fill in the gaps with what you know, not just make things up. If we believe that a colleague is self-serving, we’ll interpret all their behavior as self-serving and see it in everything they do. Naturally, everyone does things for themselves, but if you only notice those actions in a person, the belief that they are self-serving will quickly become entrenched. And this happens with all beliefs.
Values are our “beacons” in life—the things we value most. If we don’t count minor values like favorite gifts, values are usually shared among people of the same culture. Life, love, recognition, material well-being, and happiness are valued by everyone, but to different degrees. This difference in value hierarchies creates the impression that people have different values overall (the effect of filling in the gaps), and, as a result, affects how we perceive others. That’s why people often turn out to be different from what we think.
So, returning to high-level manipulation: to create the “reality” you want for someone, it’s enough to change their attention filters so they start noticing different things in their environment and build their “reality” based on new beliefs. All you need to do is introduce new interests and desires, based on their own values, and implant a few beliefs. But in most cases, to get the desired result, it’s enough to just change a few of their beliefs. You can learn to do all of this.