Classification of Factors Affecting Manipulation Tendencies Using Decision Trees

This study aimed to examine variables associated with manipulation tendency levels in adults and to describe current patterns using a decision tree method as a classification-based analytical approach. The research sample consisted of 543 adults (358 women, 65.93%; 185 men, 34.07%) residing in Turkey, aged 18 to 45 years (M = 25.79, SD = 4.23). Data were collected using a researcher-developed personal information form, the Manipulation Scale in Human Relations, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Relationship Scales Questionnaire. The total composite score of the Manipulation Scale was used as the outcome variable and is referred to throughout as "manipulation tendency." Manipulation tendency scores were dichotomized into low versus high groups using a median split to facilitate C&RT-based classification. Classification and Regression Tree was used to examine the hierarchical structure of variables related to manipulation tendency levels and to identify classification patterns among study variables. The decision tree approach was used not merely as an alternative statistical technique, but as an interpretable classification framework capable of identifying hierarchical and conditional pathways associated with manipulation tendency. Data were stratified-randomly split into training and test sets (70/30), and tree complexity was tuned via cross-validation using cost-complexity pruning. Model performance indicated acceptable classification accuracy within this sample, with a test-set accuracy of 0.81 (sensitivity = 0.74, specificity = 0.88, precision = 0.86, F1 = 0.79) and training accuracy of 0.86. The findings indicated several influential variables in classifying manipulation tendency levels, ranked by importance: preoccupied attachment style, self-esteem, age, dismissive attachment style, gender, secure attachment style, and fearful attachment style. Preoccupied attachment style was identified as the most salient variable in differentiating between high and low manipulation tendency groups. The decision tree structure showed that younger adults with higher preoccupied attachment scores were more frequently classified into the high manipulation tendency group. Self-esteem emerged as the second most influential variable, with lower self-esteem levels being more commonly observed among individuals classified in the high manipulation tendency group. Age also played a notable role in classification, with higher manipulation tendency classifications occurring more frequently among younger individuals. Dismissive attachment style contributed to the differentiation of manipulation tendency levels, particularly within specific attachment and age profiles. Gender-related patterns indicated that men were more frequently classified into higher manipulation tendency groups, especially among individuals with low self-esteem. Overall, the findings highlight the multifactorial and hierarchical nature of manipulation tendency classifications. They contribute to the literature by showing how attachment-related characteristics, developmental factors, and psychological variables jointly differentiate manipulation tendency profiles. These findings highlight the value of decision tree modelling for translating conventional psychological predictors into interpretable classification profiles of manipulation tendency.