These “emotional buttons” represent defects in your way of thinking, which will make you easily locked in by the psychological manipulator and become their target.

Are you a vulnerable person in the eyes of others?

Everyone is likely to be subject to a skilled psychological manipulator, especially those who carefully conceal their true motives. Almost anyone will be particularly vulnerable in a certain situation, and also extremely easy to be manipulated by others. But there are also people who are like living targets, and experienced psychological manipulators can recognize them from far away.

Such people usually display specific personality traits, behaviors and thinking patterns, making them extremely vulnerable to psychological manipulation. These tendencies are like “buttons” installed on their bodies. As long as the psychological controller sees these switches, they will not Press the button politely to bring such a person under their control.

Quiz: How high is your susceptibility to manipulation?
From the following quiz, you will find the answer. Please read each statement below, and if the statement is true to you or most of the time, please tick it.

1. I should try to please other people and make them happy.

2. I always need the approval of others.

3. Because I am so considerate to the people around me, they should also be kind and caring in return.

4. I often feel that I do not have a clear sense of self-identity.

5. I always do my best to cater to the expectations, needs and desires of others, so they should not reject or criticize me.

6. It is very difficult for me to refuse a request from a friend, family member or colleague.

7. Because I want to be a good person, I often avoid showing negative emotions to other people.

8. I believe that the conflict will not have a good result.

9. I believe that other people can control more than I can control anything that happens to me.

10. I am very concerned about what others think of me in almost all aspects of my life.

11. I should always try to do what other people want, expect and ask me to do.

12. If I do not put the needs of others first, and value my own needs, I will feel guilty.

13. I rely on the opinions of others, instead of trusting my own judgment.

14. My self-worth comes from how much I have done for other people.

15. I am sure that people like me because I am responsive and do things for them.

16. I rarely reject anyone who needs or wants my help.

17. It is difficult for me to make a decision on my own.

18. Without what other people think of me, it is difficult for me to describe who I am or express my thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

19. I am easily timid because the other party shows anger or hostility.

20. I will do my best to avoid conflicts, anger or confrontation with others, so they should never be angry with me.

21. It is extremely important for me to make almost everyone who knows me like me.

22. I feel that in order to win the love or approval of other people, we must do something to make them happy.

23. I often say “Yes” when other people ask me something and I want to say “No”.

24. I almost do my best to avoid conflicts.

25. I believe that if I do not do things for other people, they will question the value of me as a person.

26. Luck, opportunity and others treat me well, more important than anything I do for myself.

27. I should always try to put others first and put myself last.

28. When people around me become anxious, angry or overly excited, I feel that I have a responsibility to calm them down.

29. There are so many feedbacks from people around me on what I should do, which often confuses me.

30. I want everyone to treat me as a good person.

31. I am sure that if someone loses their temper at me, it is usually my fault.

32. I almost never oppose or challenge the ideas of others; I am afraid of irritating people and causing conflicts.

33. If you don’t put the needs of others first, you will become a selfish person, and others will dislike me.

34. I should always be kind to people, even if that means giving others a chance to take advantage of me.

35. My value comes from doing things for other people and what they think of me.

36. I rely heavily on what other people think of me. My self-awareness and self-esteem come from this.

37. I have to consult many people before I can make a decision.

38. I think I can’t avoid disasters or minimize the trouble, even though I have tried my best, it will be in vain in the end.

39. Before making major decisions, I always seem to need everyone’s approval.

40. Instead of venting emotions and risking conflict and confrontation, it is best to smile and suppress anger.

The answer is revealed
Each tick is scored one point.

If the score is between 31 and 40, it means that you are “extremely” vulnerable to psychological manipulation. You have probably been controlled by several people for most of your life. Now you are almost an attack target that can surely succeed as long as you start with a psychological manipulator.

If your score is between 21 and 30, it means you are “severely” vulnerable. You may have gone through a few manipulative relationships, and you will still be easily manipulated again in the future.

If your score is between 11 and 20, it means you are “moderate” and easily manipulated. In some cases, the controller can still take the opportunity to firmly control you.

If your score is between 1 and 10, it means you are “mildly” vulnerable to manipulation. However, you are not completely indestructible, and no one can do this.

If your score is 0, you are not an easy target for a mental manipulator. But if you mistakenly believe that you are indestructible and totally unmanageable, you would be unwise. Remember, anyone can be tortured by an experienced psychological manipulator under certain circumstances, but the time has not come.

Review your ticked statements, and think about how the mental manipulators around you might use these to control you. In fact, every statement represents part of your beliefs, and the formation of your behavior, mood, and personal traits all stem from this belief system. These beliefs are the “emotional buttons” that the manipulator will touch, because they find that these “buttons” are your weaknesses that are most vulnerable to intrusion. You will soon understand that these emotional buttons represent flaws in your way of thinking, which will make you easily locked in by the psychological manipulator and become their target.