Neuro-linguistic programming

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a quasi-spiritual behavior-modification (or "performance psychology") technique whose crux is "modelling," or "NLP modelling" (Raso 2005). NLP practitioners most commonly define NLP as "the study of the structure of subjective experience". How do we do what we do? How do we think? How do we learn? And how do we connect with each other and our world on a physical and spiritual level? (O'Connor & McDermott, 1996) (Dilts et al 1980)(Milliner 1988). Thus, "NLP is about form and not about content" (Dilts et al 1980).

Science

The scientific testing of NLP

NLP has been empirically tested over many years, and it has been found to be largely ineffective (Thaler Singer & Lalich, 1996). The US National Committee was asked in 1984 to judge the various techniques, and they used 14 different judges in order to do so. A review of research showed that NLP is scientifically unsupported (Heap 1988).

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The 1988 US National Committee report then reported that "Individually, and as a group, these studies fail to provide an empirical base of support for NLP assumptions...or NLP effectiveness. The committee cannot recommend the employment of such an unvalidated technique" (Druckman & Swets, 1988). In addition, Edgar Johnson, technical director of the Army Research Institute heading the NLP focused Project Jedi concern stated "Lots of data shows that NLP doesn't work?(Squires 1988).

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Since then objective and empirical studies and review papers have consistently shown NLP to be ineffective and reviews or meta-analyses have given NLP a conclusively negative assessment (Bleimeister, 1988) (Morgan, 1993) (Platt, 2001) (Bertelsen, 1987), and the statement that there is no neuro-scientific basis for any of NLP"'s claims (Thaler Singer and Lalich 1996)(Drenth 2003).

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There are also scientific explanations for why some people perceive some aspects of NLP to work sometimes. This can be due to the placebo effect, authority expectation change, social pressure, superficial symptomatic rather than core treatment, distortion of fact through beliefs change distorting the value in the treatment, and overestimating some apparent successes while ignoring, downplaying, or explaining away failures (Beyerstein 1997).

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NLP's claim to science

The areas of science that enjoy the greatest prestige at any moment are the most tempting targets for appropriation by pseudoscientists, and neurolinguistic programming (NLP) is one of many riders on neurology?s coattails (Beyerstein 1991). However, Grinder often claims that NLP is both an art and a science (Grinder 2003) and many NLP promoters and advertisers continue to call the originators "scientists" and to use such terms as "Science" to promote their ideas, "technology", and "hi-tech psychology" in order to sell NLP (Thaler Singer & Lalich, 1996). However Grinder more recently has been promoting NLP as an epistemology than a technology or psychological science.

Related Topics:
Art - Science

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NLP advocates attempt to associate NLP with great minds such as Einstein (Grinder & Delozier, 1987), and uses extraordinary claims of its efficacy. However, in distinct contrast with Einsteinian thought, NLP prefers to ignore Hume's dictum: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". NLP promoters have consistently failed to provide even normal scientific evidence. This includes the notion of adopting unconscious competence through the manipulation of the engram, which is also not supported by science.

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NLP models contrast sharply with accepted psychological models of behavior, motivation or personality. Psychological modeling makes considerable effort to measure the existence and strength of the parts of the model for distinguishable constructs or factors, and takes great care to measure the distinct association between each proposed construct (Michie et al, 2005). NLP promoters make no attempt at all to do this, and NLP models cannot be verified, and so the techniques developed from them may have nothing to do with the models or their sources (Carroll, 2003).

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The psycholinguist view is that "NLP is not informed about linguistics literature, it is based on vague insights that were out of date long ago, their linguistics concepts are not properly construed or are mere fabrications, and conclusions are based upon the wrong premises. NLP theory and practice has nothing to do with neuroscientific insights or linguistics, nor with informatics or theories of programming. NLP developers are not interested in the question as to how neurological processes take place, or in serious research" (Levelt 1995).

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In sum, NLP promotes methods which are false, inaccurate or ineffective (Bleimeister, 1988) (Morgan, 1993) (Platt, 2001). From these models it develops techniques which may have nothing to do with either the models or the sources of the "models" (Carroll, 2005). NLP makes claims about thinking and perception which do not seem to be supported by neuroscience (Carroll, 2003) (Platt, 2001) (Druckman & Swets, 1988) (Bertelsen, 1987). And NLP has been marketed to the general public using a broad brush approach to solutions" (Carroll, 2003), and adopts conveniently broad and simple terms, popular psychology, and pseudoscience and myths about the brain to promote its claims (Drenth 2003).

Related Topics:
Popular psychology - Pseudoscience - Brain

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NLP as a pseudoscience

NLP has been classed as a pseudoscientific self help development in the same mould as EST and Dianetics (Lilienfeld et al 2003) (Williams et al 2000)(Levelt 1995)(Drenth 2003). This is in part due to the fact that the reviews of research on NLP have not supported either the assumptions of NLP or the efficacy (Thaler Singer & Lalich, 1996), but similar to proponents of other pseudoscientific subjects such as Dianetics and EST, the NLP community continues to claim their assumptions and methods are powerful, relying only on testimonials and anecdotal evidence to support their claims.

Related Topics:
Pseudoscientific - EST - Dianetics - Pseudoscientific

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Pseudoscience is also prone to certain fallacies and characteristics. These can be; Overgeneral predictions, pseudoscientific experimentation, dogmatic adherence or recycling of de-validated claims (Winn and Wiggins 2001)http://www.xenu.net/archive/baloney_detection.html.

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The characteristics of pseudoscience have been identified in NLP promotion. These are (Lilienfeld et al 2003) http://www.guilford.com/excerpts/lilienfeld.pdf:

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• The use of obscurantist language and psycho-babble (eg metaprograms, parapragmatics, sub-modalities etc)
• The absence of connectivity (Levelt 1995)
• Over-reliance on testimonial and anecdotal evidence
• An overuse of ad hoc hypotheses designed to immunize claims from falsification
• Emphasis on confirmation rather refutation (eg reliance on asking how rather than why)
• Absence of boundary conditions
• The mantra of holism
• Evasion of peer review
• Reversed burden of proof (away from those making claim, and towards those testing the claim).

Pseudoscientific arguments tend to contain several or all of these factors, as can be seen in this example http://www.bradburyac.mistral.co.uk/nlpfax09.htm that shows ad hoc hypotheses and holistic argument as an attempt to explain away the negative findings, and an emphasis on confirmation and reversed burden of proof etc.

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