Rachel has asked me to write about controlling people In my opinion, there are two different topics or issues: control and controlling behaviour. So, let's go...
What is control?
- General definition: Control is the power to influence or direct the behaviour of people or the course of events. It involves the ability to manage, regulate or command something.
- Psychology: In psychology, control is often related to an individual's perception of their ability to influence their environment or the outcomes of their life. This can include concepts such as locus of control (*), which refers to the extent to which individuals believe they can control events that affect them.
- Management and business: In a business context, control refers to the processes and systems that organisations use to ensure that their objectives are met. This includes performance measurement, feedback mechanisms and corrective measures.
- Engineering and systems: In engineering, control refers to the methods used to manage the behaviour of dynamic systems. Control systems are designed to regulate the performance of a system in order to achieve the desired performance.
- Social and political contexts: Control can also refer to the power exercised by authorities or institutions over individuals or groups, including the mechanisms of social control that regulate behaviour within societies.
- Personal control: At the personal level, control can refer to self-regulation and the ability to manage one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in various situations.
What does controlling behaviour mean?
Vocabulary Related to Control
- Autonomy: The ability to make one's own choices and decisions. Example: "She values her autonomy and prefers to make her own decisions without interference."
- Influence: The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something. Example: "His positive attitude had a significant influence on the team's morale."
Vocabulary Related to Controlling Behavior
- Manipulation: The act of influencing someone in a clever or unscrupulous way. Example: "His manipulation of the situation made her feel guilty for wanting to leave."
- Domination: The exercise of control or influence over someone or something. Example: "Her domination in the relationship left him feeling powerless and frustrated."
- Surveillance: Close observation, especially of a suspected spy or criminal. Example: "The constant surveillance of her phone messages made her feel invaded."
- Coercion: The practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats. Example: "He felt that his boss's coercion to work overtime was unfair."
- Emotional Abuse: A form of abuse characterized by a person’s behavior that manipulates, intimidates, or belittles another person. Example: "Her partner's emotional abuse left her feeling isolated and insecure."
- Dependency: A state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else. Example: "His controlling behavior created a dependency that made it hard for her to leave the relationship."
- Gaslighting: A form of psychological manipulation that seeks to make a person doubt their perceptions, memories, or reality. Example: "He was gaslighting her by denying things he had said, making her question her own memory."