# 48. Emotional manipulation ## 48.5. Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species ### 48.5.1. Lying and partial deceit It is sometimes hard to tell if somebody is lying at the time. Generally the truth becomes apparent later. One way to minimise the chances of being successfully deceived is to understand that some personality types, particularly psychopaths, are experts in the art of lying and cheating and betray no signs of guilt or conscience. ### 48.5.2. Partial Deceit also known as Gaslighting Partial deceit is a subtle form of lying where the deceiver withholds a significant amount of the truth, but mixes some facts with the lies. It is used by propagandists, but it is also often used in domestic emotional manipulation. When this happens consistently over a period of time it may cause a victim to question their sanity, since they are never quite sure what is true and what is a lie. This type of abuser often accuses their partner of doing something wrong to justify their own actions or to mislead their partner about why they are being mistreated. Alternatively, the goal of such abusive accusations is to blame the partner for their anger, irritation or insecurity, and thus prove that the anger or abuse the victim is suffering is actually justified because the victim is really at fault. No psychologically healthy partner wants to see his or her spouse feeling bad or hurt, plainly he or she would prefer to comfort or heal their pain.