No matter what type of person you are, at work or on your personal time, people can be manipulated into doing bad things. Yes, even good people! There will be times in life where you are tested by others to do things like cheat, lie, or even take advantage of others. If you do not grab a hold of these situations early, you may find yourself in a difficult environment. If you live in Minnesota and have found yourself in one of these situations, team up with Kallemeyn & Kallemeyn, PLLC to help get your moral judgement back in place!
Ways We Can Be Pulled Away from Our Moral Judgement:
- Offer Justification – By convincing someone that the end result will yield something positive, we as humans can be manipulated.
- Minimize Consequences – Manipulating individuals into thinking that if they take a risk, or go down the wrong path, the consequences if caught are minor is another way to get good people to make poor decisions. No one’s going to catch us and it’s not a big deal are common ways we see consequences minimized.
- Dehumanize The Victims – Often times, good people are tricked into believing that the victims of the situation you are in deserve what they get. Derogatory comments are directed towards these individuals to make them seem less human.
- Displace Responsibilities – The feeling that if someone else is in charge, you are not going to be held responsible is another way to manipulate good people into doing bad things.
The Experiment
David and Joseph, ‘The Behavioral Science Guys’ performed tests on teenagers to see if they would be convinced to cheat if the four characteristics above were applied. The experiment showed that ⅔ of the tested teens cheated at some point during the process. There were however a few kids that did not give in. These individuals broke eye contact, spoke up and tuned out the one’s encouraging the cheating.
How Our Law Office Can Help
The only way to avoid manipulation is to spot it out in advance and separate yourself from the environment. That is where Kallemeyn & Kallemeyn, PLLC can help. The goal of our Minnesota law firm is to keep you connected with your moral judgement before others have the chance to manipulate you.
So, if you live in Minnesota and find yourself in an extenuating circumstance where you feel like your judgement is being tested, our dedicated staff can mentor you through this difficult situation. Give us a call today at (763) 427-5131 to learn more about our legal practice areas.
