Ulquiorra -- A Case Study

Ulquiorra, a high ranking Espada member in the Bleach Universe.
Ulquiorra is also a highly skilled psychological manipulator.
If you aren't afraid of spoilers of the Ulquiorra arc then click below to view the case study.

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Ulquoirra was given the task of bringing Inoue Orihime back to Hueco Mundo by Aizen. However, Ulquiorra had two goals that made his task different from a regular kidnapping. He had to bring her back unharmed and he wanted to make her obey Aizen later.

To accomplish this Ulquiorra used expert psychological means. When talking to Orihime, Ulquiorra figured out that she thought she was the weakest link among the good guys. He used this to get her to agree to leave Karakura town. She thought that if she went with him that the good guys would be better off without the extra weight. Ulquiorra was skilled enough to learn this about her through only observation and conversation. He then used the way he framed the outcomes of her going to Hueco Mundo to convey that her life would be a good sacrifice for the people she was close to. If he had not convinced her this, she would have struggled and asked Ichigo for help. Which was also easy because that was when Ichigo lost to Grimjow a weaker opponent than Ulquiorra.

Next, Ulquiorra used actual psychology terms. Ulquiorra had to fool everyone in Karakura town, including Ichigo that Orihime ran away of her own free will. This is not easy but Ulquiorra is a psychological mastermind.

According to a theory called "Correspondent Inference"... Wait too many big words. Well this IS an anime case study. So I'll just say what he did. Ulquiorra made it so that Orihime's actions seemed like they were:
1) Freely Chosen
 Ulquiorra told Orihime to say goodbye to her friends, Ichigo being the best friend. Orihime went and said goodbye to Ichigo. So when they traced her trail they would find that she wanted to leave, and didn't struggle.
2) Not common/Not like Orihime's personality
 Orihime was just training beforehand and she was serious. But her quick run away from Karakura Town seemed wierd. Psychology states that actions like these make others think that the person decided of their own free will. Especially if number one is already in effect.
3) Not desirable
 Since Orihime ran away, at the very least the others would assume that if she did something that dumb of her own free will then she was not forced.

The most important fact is that Ulquiorra planned everything to make it look like she chose to leave on her own free will. That is what threw EVERYONE off. Even Orihime, because when a person starts to think they did it of their own free will then they will be more compliant. That's why she obeyed Aizen. That and Aizen's a powerful wierdo.

Moral of the story:
Don't trust that guy cosplaying as Ulquiorra with your kids?
Tite Kubo took a psychology class?

No, Ulquiorra is a psychological mastermind.
Which was important when we found out he had something like feelings later on...