Manipulation Theory

     What is lying exactly?  What if you don't tell the whole truth?  What if you just try and change the subject, so you don't have to answer a question?  All these questions deal with manipulation theory and how people deal with not telling the truth.  This particular post looks at how the speaker manipulates "information that they posses so as to mislead listeners," (McCornack,1992).
     Many times people are in a position where they are confronted with a situation where they must reveal information.  The information may be detrimental to the receiver, thus many times the speaker will alter the information.  McCornack (1992) described decptive messages, "in the terms of the ways that sensitive information is manipulated and controlled."

     When looking at deception in close relationships, research has found that there are four lie types: falsifacation, distortion, omission, and relevance.

1. Falsification- to state information contrary to the truth or deny information.
2. Distortion-"manipulation of the true information through exaggeration, minimization, and equivocation, such that a listerner would not know all relevant aspects of the truth or would logically misinterpret the information provided," (McCornack, 1992).  
3. Omission-not providing all significant information regarding the situation.
4. Relevance-diverting the subject of conversation away from topic.

    One or several of these methods are used when deceiving a listener.  The listener does not realize the violations made by the speaker,  instead, they believe they are apart of a cooperative exchange.  Many messages involve what is known as "manipulating clarity," which basically hides the real facts.  For example, if someone (who you were interested in) asks you out, but you were occupied with another date, instead of saying, "I have already have a date" you say, "I have prior plans."  This hides the fact that you already have a date; some think that this protects the other person, but research claims that this falls under the category of deception.

     There are many forms of manipulation, these are just a few.  Just a word or phrase may turn the sentence into deception.  True communication takes place when the receiver truly understands the speakers intention and message.
For more information:
McCornack, S. (1992). Information Manipulation Theory. Communication Monographs, 59
O'Keefe, B. (1998). The logic of message design: Individual differences in reasonign about communication. Communication Monographs , 55