The article presents an attempt to analyze the psychological peculiarities of informational influence in the society and its role in the self-development of personality. Particular attention is paid to the manipulative essence of the informational influence, which is manifested in the communicative area of personality’s life, sometimes penetrating into interpersonal communication. The differences between communication (as a process of information exchange) and communication (as interpersonal interaction (conversation)) are indicated, it is concluded that free development of the personality is possible provided of her engagement in the interpersonal interaction, and a sincere interpersonal communication is the precondition of this. It is noted that the communicative space of personality’s life in the modern world is filled with information flow, which needs to perceive consciously, criti ­ cally evaluating its argumentation, revealing its real meaning, not trust a priori in its reliability, based only on a positive impression from the source of information. It is concluded that the informational-communicative influence on a person in a society in essence is mainly manipulative and subject-objective by character; about the impossibility of adequate development and self-actualization of the person in conditions of permanent manipulation of the social environment. It is stated that under such condition, a person – a successful manipulator can realize, develop and manifest his abilities more better and easier, while for a human who is not able to manipulate perfectly or does not want to use other people to achieve his own goals, this can become a problem. Keywords : informational influence, manipulation, communication, development, self-realization, interaction. Accepted : 03.23.201 8 Reviewed : 04.07.201 8 Published : 04.11.2018 * * * * * Download/read PDF