Manipulation

Manipulation in a broad sense refers to a manifestation aimed at influencing somebody to act or react in a desired manner. In a narrower sense, manipulation refers to a specific type of social influence that reveals when somebody has a nondisclosed motive for controlling or contriving somebody else into doing something that benefits the manipulator and not the manipulated, who is sometimes even unaware of the structure and effects of the manifestation. What most significantly distinguishes manipulation from other types of social influence, such as persuasion, are the components of nondisclosure and self-interest. In this context, propaganda refers to a possible but not necessary aspect of manipulation, that is, a piece of information aimed at altering public opinion by use of media. Musical manipulation transpires when music acts as part of the manifestation of manipulation.

On the most general level, musical manipulation is enforced. It is not the listener's decision that music should appear in the particular setting, such as in a commercial, shop, or prison. The music is out of the listener's immediate control. Furthermore, to a reasonable approximation, music for manipulation operates more as a reinforcer than a direct message. Music for manipulation typically supplements an activity that already has importance. The music does not cause the situation, and the situation would most often take place without the presence of music. Hence, listening to music is not normally the preferred activity of listeners exposed to musical manipulation. Alongside nondisclosure and self-interest, these general characteristics of the relationship between the music and the listener may help explain why, within academia, musical manipulation has been relatively ignored.