Dark Psychology and Influence
Learn to read the hidden signals people send and understand the psychological levers used to influence behavior and protect yourself from manipulation.
Like Duolingo, but for Dark Psychology and Influence. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
18 levels across 3 sections, about 36 minutes end to end, roughly 7 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Reading the Unspoken, The Mechanics of Persuasion, and Dark Patterns and Defense. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Dark Psychology and Influence
- Micro-expressions are triggered by the autonomic nervous system before the brain can process a lie
- The seven universal emotions have identical muscle movements regardless of cultural background
- Conscious masking only happens after the initial 'leak' has already occurred
- Biological survival mechanisms dictate facial expressions, not social learning
- The mouth is easily controlled by the conscious mind, but the eyes are much harder to manipulate
- Micro-expressions are involuntary and precede conscious control
- A Duchenne smile requires the contraction of the muscles around the eyes (crow's feet)
- Contempt is uniquely asymmetrical, appearing as a one-sided sneer or mouth pull
- Identifying the universality of expressions across different targets
- Contempt signals a lack of respect or a feeling of superiority over the observer
- Distinguishing between a forced social smile and a genuine emotional response
- The leakage effect is a momentary failure of the 'social mask'
- Micro-expressions last between 1/15 and 1/25 of a second
- Recognizing the specific visual cue for contempt
- Recognizing the speed and timing of the leakage effect
- The brain controls feet less consciously than the face
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Dark Psychology and Influence the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
If you meet someone from a tiny island far away, how will their face look when they are truly angry?
Get it right to open this lesson and 17 more in the app.
Where Dark Psychology and Influence takes you
- 1
Reading the Unspoken
- Decoding Micro-expressions
- Body Language and Subconscious Cues
- 2
The Mechanics of Persuasion
- Strategic Social Pressure
- Framing and Cognitive Anchoring
- 3
Dark Patterns and Defense
- Emotional Manipulation Tactics
- The Dark Triad and Protection
3 sections · 6 units · 18 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Dark Psychology and Influence is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Dark Psychology and Influence today.
Download Tomo, search Dark Psychology and Influence, and play your first lesson in under a minute.