Lay Theories of Manipulation: Do People Believe they are Susceptible to Persuaders' Trickery?

Zarema Khon, Yi-Ju Chen, Yvetta Simonyan, Haiming Hang and Samuel G. B. Johnson
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Zarema Khon: Nazarbayev University, Graduate School of Business
Yi-Ju Chen: University of Bath
Yvetta Simonyan: University of Bath
Haiming Hang: University of Bath
Samuel G. B. Johnson: University of Waterloo

No 2026/08, Working Papers from Nazarbayev University, Graduate School of Business

Abstract: Existing research shows that persuasion is very hard. Then why are many people still determined that they can be easily and effectively manipulated by persuaders, such as marketers or politicians? Across five studies, we show that the beliefs about manipulation have deep psychological roots and might be an evolutionary adaptation against trickery. Thus, people higher in general motivations to make sense of their environments tend to not only see persuasion where it exists, but also where it doesn't. Such beliefs can be weakened when people think of themselves (vs. other people) in persuasion situations (Study 4) and read concrete (vs. abstract) descriptions of these situations (Study 5). However, these effects occur only in individuals with low (vs. high) sense-making motivation because they are naturally less attuned to threats, including manipulation. Furthermore, whereas higher sense-making motives manifest in greater false-positive beliefs about manipulation effectiveness (where there is no persuasion), sense-making abilities negatively affect false-positives and result in more accurate beliefs about persuasion (Study 3). Practical implications, other exploratory factors driving manipulation beliefs, and strategies for attenuating false-positive manipulation detection are discussed.

Keywords: lay theories; beliefs; influence; persuasion knowledge; sense-making (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 77 pages
Date: 2026-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe
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