Methods of neuro-linguistic programming: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:50, 24 March 2021

Revision as of 08:31, 25 March 2021

Line 4:

{{cite journal|last= Sharpley|first= Christopher F.|title= Research findings on neurolinguistic programming: Nonsupportive data or an untestable theory?|journal=Journal of Counseling Psychology|date=1 January 1987|volume=34|issue=1|pages=103–107|doi=10.1037/0022-0167.34.1.103|url=http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?nfpb=true&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ352101&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&objectId=0900000b8005c1ac}}</ref> which teaches that people are only able to directly perceive a small part of the world using their conscious awareness, and that this view of the world is filtered by experience, beliefs, values, assumptions, and biological sensory systems. NLP argues that people act and feel based on their perception of the world and how they feel about that world they subjectively experience.

NLP teaches that language and behaviors (whether functional or dysfunctional) are highly structured, and that this structure can be 'modeled' or copied into a reproducible form.<ref name="Bandler & Grinder 1979">{{cite book | author=Bandler, R. | author2=Grinder, J. | title=Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming | ___location=Moab, UT | publisher=Real People Press. | year=1979 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/frogsintoprinces00band_0/page/149 149 (pp. 15, 24, 30, 45, 52)] | isbn=0-911226-19-2 | url=https://archive.org/details/frogsintoprinces00band_0/page/149 }}</ref>{{unreliable fringe source|date=September 2017}} Using NLP a person can 'model' the more successful parts of their own behavior in order to reproduce it in areas where they are less successful or 'model' another person to effect belief and behavior changes to improve functioning. If someone excels in some activity, it can be [[Modeling (NLP)|learned]] how specifically they do it by observing certain important details of their behavior.<ref name="Bandler & Grinder 1975a">{{cite book |author1=Bandler, Richard |author2=John Grinder |name-list-style=amp | title=The Structure of Magic I: A Book About Language and Therapy | ___location=Palo Alto, CA | publisher=Science & Behavior Books | year=1975|isbn= 0-8314-0044-7}}</ref>{{unreliable fringe source|date=September 2017}} NLP embodies several techniques, including hypnotic techniques, which proponents claim can affect changes in the way people think, learn and communicate.<ref name="Dilts et al. 1980">{{cite book | author=Dilts, R.B. | author2=Grinder, J. | author3=Bandler, R. | author4=DeLozier, J.A. | title=Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Volume I - The Study of the Structure of Subjective Experience | publisher=Meta Publications | year=1980 | isbn=0-916990-07-9 | pages=284(pp.3–4) | url=https://archive.org/details/neurolinguisticp01dilt | url-access=registration }}</ref>{{unreliable fringe source|date=September 2017}} NLP is an eclectic field, often described as a 'toolbox' which has borrowed heavily from other fields in collating its presuppositions and techniques.

==Internal 'maps' of the world==

NLP calls each individual's perception of the world their 'map'.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} NLP teaches that our mind-body{{clarify|date=September 2017}} (neuro) and what we say (language) all interact together to form our perceptions of the world, or maps (programming). Each person's map of the world determines feelings and behavior.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} Therefore, impoverished – and unrealistic – maps can restrict choices and result in problems.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

As an approach to personal development or therapy it involves understandingclaims that people create their own internal 'map' or world, recognizing unhelpful or destructive patterns of thinking based on impoverished maps of the world, then modifying or replacing these patterns with more useful or helpful ones. There is also an emphasis on ways to change internal representations or maps of the world in order to increase behavioral flexibility.<ref name="Bandler & Grinder 1979" />{{unreliable fringe source|date=September 2017}}<ref name="Bandler & Grinder 1975a" />{{unreliable fringe source|date=September 2017}}<ref name="Bandler & Grinder 1983">{{cite book |author1=Bandler, Richard |author2=John Grinder |name-list-style=amp | title=Reframing: Neurolinguistic programming and the transformation of meaning | ___location=Moab, UT | publisher=Real People Press. | year=1983 | pages=appendix II,p.171}}</ref>{{unreliable fringe source|date=September 2017}}

==Modeling==

{{See also|Modeling (psychology)}}

"Modeling" in NLP is the process of adopting the behaviors, language, strategies and beliefs of another person or exemplar in order to 'build a model of what they do.

NLP founders have said that we know our modeling to be more successful when we can systematically get the same behavioural outcome as the person we have modeled'.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} NLP consists of reduced 'models', consisting of patterns that can be more easily followed. The founders, Bandler and Grinder, started by analysing in detail and then searching for what made successful [[psychotherapist]]s different from their peers. The patterns discovered were developed over time and adapted for general communication and effecting change.<ref name="Bandler & Grinder 1979"/>{{unreliable fringe source|date=September 2017}} The original models were: [[Milton Erickson]] ([[hypnotherapy]]), [[Virginia Satir]] ([[family therapy]]), and [[Fritz Perls]] ([[gestalt therapy]]). NLP modeling methods are designed to unconsciously assimilate the tacit knowledge to learn what the master is doing of which the master is not aware. As an approach to learning it can involve modeling exceptional people.<ref name="Jacobson 1994">Jacobson, S. (1994) Info-line: practical guidelines for training and development professionals, ''American Society For Training and Development'' Alexandria, VA. [http://sidjacobson.com/institute/history.html Adapted version available online] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610030957/http://www.sidjacobson.com/institute/history.html |date=2007-06-10 }}</ref> As Bandler and Grinder state "the function of NLP modeling is to arrive at descriptions which are useful."<ref name="Bandler & Grinder 1979"/>{{ufs|date=November 2017}} Einspruch & Forman 1985 state that "when modeling another person the modeler suspends his or her own beliefs and adopts the structure of the physiology, language, strategies, and beliefs of the person being modeled. After the modeler is capable of behaviorally reproducing the patterns (of behavior, communication, and behavioral outcomes) of the one being modeled, a process occurs in which the modeler modifies and readopts his or her own belief system while also integrating the beliefs of the one who was modeled."<ref name="Einspruch & Forman 1985">{{cite journal | author=Einspruch, Eric L. | author2=Forman, Bruce D. | title=Observations Concerning Research Literature on Neuro-Linguistic Programming | journal=Journal of Counseling Psychology | year=1985 | volume=32 | pages=589–596 | doi=10.1037/0022-0167.32.4.589 | issue=4}}</ref> Modeling is not confined to therapy, but can be, and is, applied to a broad range of human learning. Another aspect of modeling is understanding the patterns of one's own behaviors in order to 'model' the more successful parts of oneself.

==Milton model==

Line 29:

;3. Indirect communication

TheNLP suggests the third aspect of the Milton model is that it is purposely vague and metaphoric for the purpose of accessing the unconscious mind. It is used to soften the meta model and make indirect suggestions.<ref name="Bandler & Grinder 1976">Bandler, Richard & John Grinder (1976). Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. Volume 1. Cupertino, CA :Meta Publications. {{ISBN|0-916990-01-X}}.</ref>{{unreliable fringe source|date=September 2017}} A direct suggestion merely states what is wanted, for example, "when you are in front of the audience you will not feel nervous". In contrast an indirect suggestion is less authoritative and leaves an opportunity for interpretation, for example, "When you are in front of the audience, you might find yourself feeling ever more confident". This example follows the indirect method leaving both the specific time and level of self-confidence unspecified. It might be made even more indirect by saying, "when you come to a decision to speak in public, you may find it appealing how your feelings have changed." The choice of speaking in front of the audience, the exact time and the likely responses to the whole process are framed but the imprecise language gives the client the opportunity to fill in the finer details.<ref name="Zahourek 2002">Rothlyn P Zahourek. (2002) Utilizing Ericksonian hypnosis in psychiatric-mental health nursing practice Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. Philadelphia: Jan-Mar 2002. Vol.38, Iss. 1; pg. 15, 8 pgs</ref>

==Representational systems==

{{main|Representational systems (NLP)}}

The notion that experience is processed by the sensory systems or representational systems, was incorporated into NLP from psychology and gestalt therapy shortly after its creation.<ref name="Bandler & Grinder 1979"/>{{unreliable fringe source|date=September 2017}} This teaches that people perceive the world through the senses and store the information from the senses in the mind. Memories are closely linked to sensory experience. When people are processing information they see images and hear sounds and voices and process this with internally created feelings. Some representations are within conscious awareness but information is largely processed at the unconscious level. When involved in any task, such as making conversation, describing a problem in therapy, reading a book, kicking a ball or riding a horse, their representational systems, consisting of [[Visual thinking|images]], [[sound]]s, [[kinesthetic|feelings]] (and possibly [[olfactory|smell]] and [[gustatory|taste]]) are being activated at the same time.<ref name="Druckman & Swets 1998">Druckman and Swets (eds) (1988) [http://darwin.nap.edu/books/0309037921/html/133.html Enhancing Human Performance: Issues, Theories, and Techniques]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, National Academy Press.</ref>{{synthesis inline|date=September 2017}} Moreover, the way representational systems are organised and the links between them impact on behavioral performance. Many NLP techniques rely on interrupting maladaptive patterns{{clarify|date=September 2017}} and replacing them with more positive and creative thought patterns which will in turn impact on behavior.<ref name="Cooper and Seal 2006">Cooper and Seal (2006) "Theory and Approaches - Eclectic-integrative approaches: Neuro-linguistic programming" In Feldtham and Horton (Eds) The SAGE Handbook of Counselling and Psychotherapy 2e</ref>

;Preferred representational systems

Originally, NLP taught that most people had an internal preferred representational system (PRS) and preferred to process information primarily in one sensory modality.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}} The practitioner could ascertain this from external cues such as the direction of eye movements, posture, breathing, voice tone and the use of sensory-based predicates. If a person repeatedly used predicates such as "I can ''see'' a ''bright'' future for myself", the words "see" and "bright" would be considered visual predicates. In contrast "I can feel that we will be comfortable" would be considered primarily kinesthetic because of the predicates "feel" and "comfortable". These verbal cues could also be coupled with posture changes, skin color or breathing shifts. The theory was that the practitioner by matching and working within the preferred representational system could achieve better communication with the client and hence swifter and more effective results. Many trainings and standard works still teach PRS<ref name="OConnor & Seymour 2002"/> whilst other proponents{{who|date=August 2017}} have de-emphasized the existence and relevance of PRS and instead emphasize working within all representational systems.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}} Responding directly to sensory experience requires an immediacy which respects the importance of context.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}} Grinder has stated that a representational system diagnosis lasts about 30 seconds.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}}

Although there is some research that supports the notion that eye movements can indicate visual and auditory (but not kinesthetic) components of thought in that moment,<ref name="Buckner 1987">Buckner, Meara, Reese, and Reese (1987) Journal of Counseling Psychology , Vol. 34(3), pp.283-287</ref> the existence of a preferred representational system ascertainable from external cues (an important part of original NLP theory) was discounted by research in the 1980s.<ref name="Sharpley 1984">Sharpley, C. F. (1984). Predicate matching in NLP: A review of research on the preferred representational system. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31(2), 238-248.</ref><ref name="Heap 1988">{{cite book | author=Heap, M. | title=Neuro-linguistic programming, In M. Heap (Ed.) Hypnosis: Current Clinical, Experimental and Forensic Practices | ___location=London | publisher=Croom Helm | year=1988 | url=http://www.surenkolkankar.com/wp-content/uploads/nlp1.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Elich 1985">Elich, M., Thompson, R. W., & Miller, L. (1985). [http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ327573&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&objectId=0900000b800561ca Mental imagery as revealed by eye movements and spoken predicates: A test of neurolinguistic programming]. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 32(4), 622-625. note: "psychological fad"p.625</ref>

;Submodalities

Submodalities are the fine details of representational systems. For example, the submodalities of sight include light/dark, colour/monochrome, sharp/blurred.<ref>Beale, M. NLP Techniques: Senses and Submodalities https://www.nlp-techniques.org/what-is-nlp/senses-submodalities/</ref> In the late 1970s the developers of NLP began experimenting with the submodalities of representational systems involving the enhancement of visualisation techniques (common in sports psychology and meditation), by including other sensory systems.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} Submodalities involve the relative size, ___location, brightness of internal images, the volume and direction of internal voices and sounds, and the ___location, texture, and movement of internally created sensations.<ref name="Tosey & Mathison 2003">Tosey, P. Jane Mathison (2003) Neuro-linguistic Programming and learning theory: a response ''The Curriculum Journal'' Vol.14 No.3 p.371-388 See also (available online): [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00003319.htm Neuro-linguistic programming: its potential for learning and teaching in formal education]</ref> Submodalities and hypnosis became the focus of Richard Bandler's later work.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} A typical change process may involve manipulating the submodalities of internal representations.<ref>Landsiedel, S. [https://www.landsiedel.com/en/nlp-library/submodalities.html "Working with Submodalities"]. landsiedel.com/en/</ref> For example, someone may see their future as 'dark and cloudy' with associated emotions, but would seek through NLP to perceive, and feel it, as 'light and clear'. Other training exercises develop a person's ability to move around internal images, change the quality of sounds and find out how these affect the intensity of internal feelings or other submodalities. Although NLP did not discover submodalities, it appears that the proponents of NLP may have been the first to systematically use manipulation of submodalities for therapeutic or personal development purposes, particularly phobias, compulsions and addictions.<ref name="Dilts & Delozier 2000">{{cite book | last = Dilts | first = Robert B |author2=DeLozier, Judith A | title = Encyclopedia of Systemic Neuro-Linguistic Programming and NLP New Coding | publisher = NLP University Press |year= 2000 | url = http://www.nlpuniversitypress.com/ | isbn = 0-9701540-0-3}}</ref>{{unreliable fringe source|date=September 2017}}

==Meta-programs==

Line 54:

{{quote|[programs] which guide and direct other thought processes. Specifically they define common or typical patterns in the strategies or thinking styles of a particular individual, group or culture.}}

The book ''Words that Change Minds'' by Shelle Rose Charvet documents 13 distinct metaprograms categories affecting workplace motivation and performance, commonly known as the Language and Behaviour (LAB) Profile. It is based on the work of Rodger Bailey and Ross Steward who wanted to make metaprograms usable to people without NLP training.{{citation needed|date= September 2020}}

==Aphorisms/presuppositions==

Depending on the branch of NLP (different trainers or companies) the number and some of the content of the presuppositions may vary. Some of them are:

* The meaning of a communication is the response that you get (not the one intended).{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* Life and 'Mind' are Systemic Processes.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* [[Biopsychosocial model|Mind and body are parts of the same system and have influence over each other]].{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* [[Law of Requisite Variety]]{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* All behaviour is geared towards adaptation.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* Behind every behavior is a positive intention.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* People are doing the best they can with the choices they have available.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* Choice is better than no choice (and flexibility is the way one gets choice).{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* Multiple descriptions are better than one.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* Behaviour is to be evaluated and appreciated or changed as appropriate in the context presented.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* People already have all the resources they need to succeed.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* The highest quality information you can have of someone is their (present) behaviour.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* People are not their behaviour: accept people, change the behaviour. (Also: distinguish between behaviour and self.){{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

* Every outcome manifested is feedback: there is no failure, only feedback.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

==Techniques==

Line 80 ⟶ 62:

===Future pacing===

A technique of asking a person to [[Feedforward, Behavioral and Cognitive Science|imagine doing something in the future]] and monitoring their reactions. It is typically used to check that a change process has been successful, by observing body language when the person imagines being in a difficult situation before and after an intervention. If the [[body language]] is the same, then the [[Intervention (counseling)|intervention]] has not been successful. Future pacing can be used to "embed" change into the contexts of the future. It gives a person the experience of dealing positively with a situation before they get into that situation in reality. This is based on [[Mental image|visualization]] where the mind is assumed not to be able to tell the difference between a scenario which is real and one which has been clearly visualized. The theoryclaim is that, having visualized positively, when the subject encounters the situation again in reality the visualized experience will serve as a model for how to behave, even though this experience was imagined. The mind cannot tell the difference between the visualization and reality so it accepts the visualization as reality and [[Accommodation (psychology)|makes the change]].{{citation needed|date=June 2012}}

===Swish===

Line 98 ⟶ 80:

===Parts integration===

"Parts Integration" is based on the idea that different aspects of ourselves are in conflict due to different perceptions and beliefs. 'Parts integration' is the process of integrating the disparate aspects of the self by identifying and then negotiating with the separate parts to achieve resolution of internal conflict. Parts integration appears to be modeled on 'parts' from [[family therapy and Internal Family Systems, (IFS) ]] and has similarities to [[ego-state therapy]] in psychoanalysis.

===VK/D===

VK/D stands for 'Visual/Kinesthetic Dissociation'. This is a technique designed to eliminate bad feelings associated with past events by re-running (like a film, sometimes in reverse) an associated memory in a [[Dissociation (psychology)|dissociated]] state. It combines elements of Ericksonian techniques, spatial sorting processes from Fritz Perls, reframing and 'changing history' techniques.<ref name="Dilts & Delozier 2000"/>

Line 108 ⟶ 89:

;State management

Sometimes called '''state control''', is a [[neuro-linguistic programming]] (NLP) technique involving actively trying to control the emotional and mental state of an individual. One method to actively achieve state management anchoring where an individual associates a particular physical [[stimulation|stimulus]]. It is used as both a self-help method and a therapeutic [[hypnotherapy]] technique.{{citation needed|date=June 2012}}

===Covert hypnosis===