Dear Sir, What you are saying is have already happened in all our life during childhood and adolescence and also during adult hood, Example: "Our parents teach and set a path as parenting care with discipline and integrity and self control where we are manipulated un intentionally in so many methods and ways which in few may not be right by an another society's view. Culture is the derivation of explanation of ones personality which is nurtured by the parents and it starts with the parents.

To kill a living being is wrong for pleasure but at the same time to kill to eat and consume is not wrong -- this very concept is a manipulated concept unintentionally to prove the food chain for survival by every living being and who manipulated this unintentionally is --- NATURE.

in all relation ship to maintain good sense of happiness we all manipulate matters with others unintentionally since all those are not harmfull to anybody. Example: A working single mother can only pick up her son from school after 2 hours the school has finished. She instructs him to be within the school campus and do his homework or play in the sports room or in the playground - here the mother instills unintentionally the very idea of spending extra time for his own way as it matures to later spending more time than usual in his own way. 

So unintentional manipulation is sometimes or always unavoidable but usually that process does not cause any harm at all. Thanks.

Let suppose: During a PhD consultation you mention a possible research design to your student who was not able to come up with any positive idea so far, but you also emphasize that this is just an example and you would prefer hearing about a different one which is much more according to the thinking and taste of the student. However, the student thinks that this is the best and the most probable alternative because the more experienced supervisor said it. This is for me one form of unintended implicit cognitive manipulation. But how can we avoid similar situations?

Thank for your answers. In both cases, I would argue we can simply name it influence, rather than manipulation. If I receive a suggestion from my advisor, I might agree that it is actually a good idea, but I am perfectly aware that it not my idea. I see manipulation as something a bit more subtle and sneaky, but that's my own totally debatable understanding of the concept.

Dear Dr.Bonaretti, this means two things for me: (i) manipulation may manifest itself in multiple forms or on multiple levels, and (ii) we need a clear definition on what is meant by the term 'manipulation', and we have to check how much this definition is sensible to various contexts. The reason for the need of a definition in your context is that the usual dictionary interpretation of manipulation is "Manipulation is the skillful handling, controlling or using of something or someone", but it is also interpreted as "Exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one's own advantage". It can be felt that both refer to an intentional, rather than to an unintentional act. Regards, I.H.

Dear Dr. Bonaretti, maybe You should look at  theories of social learning (Bandura et al.) or cognitive theories of social psychology (especially psychologivcal reactance), where You may find several examples that may meet Your  concepts of unintended manipulation.

Hello Dario,  I am just wondering how you might distinguish manipulation and influence?  I think as outlined by other contributors here that maybe we all can and/or do influence others unintentionally.  This I would argue is more about the perception of the 'other' to us e.g. clothing style can influence others reaction to us at not a conscious level.

Howerer manipulation could be described as having an element of intentionality built into it.

These are just my thoughts on the matter and so I'm afraid I cannot cite any literature as a basis here.

sure can. if we were aware of the ways we manipulate people unintentionally, it would be cause for serious self scrutiny.

I liked how people looked at the question... from different perspectives... I benefited a lot... thanks

The myth of perfect manipulation of others is unattainable and risky. In fact, the manipulation of someone leads to varying levels  of deception and insincerity and even lying.  Indeed, manipulation can be counterintuitive and may mask the reality so that the outcomes could be harsh on others because the concept of manipulation of others can be too elusive and elastic to grasp and perceptually pinpoint. 

Negative behavior can often cause someone to manipulate others without explicit intention to do so. We always say misery loves company. This is where someone who has some negative feelings expresses themselves strongly enough that others then develop the same negative feelings. I don't think the person is intentionally trying to control others to make them unhappy or have the negative feeling they have but their emotion is strong enough that it can inadvertently manipulate others. Once the manipulation occurs and others share in the first person's misery, the first person has a subconscious feeling of satisfaction. I think that manipulation occurs when there is some negativity involved. When you inadvertently influence someone to do something positive then maybe that can be what you're referring to as influence. A person is motivated by seeing how successful you are so they are influenced to achieve that same success.

This might be a way to distinguish influence from manipulation and evaluate unintentional effects.