Support for NLP

As a scientist and an NLP practitioner, I find myself often balancing partially conflicting metaphors in my approach to NLP as a discipline.  I have seen for myself the power of some of the NLP techniques in developing rapport and creating change, but the empirical evidence for whether, and how, these techniques work is lacking.  Therefore, the scientific sceptic in me cries out for more research that supports the ideas that I find compelling in practice.

While research investigating aspects of NLP is rare, there are studies that address other issues that bear on NLP concepts.  Two of these have recently appeared in the journal ‘Psychological Science’.  The first paper by Molly Ireland and colleagues at the University of Texas looked at language style matching (LSM) as a means of identifying couples who might be romantically interested in one another.  The research was in two parts: In the first study, participants (undergraduates at University of Texas) were videoed during a speed dating event.  The conversations of 40 couples were transcribed, and the degree to which the couples matched on the use of function words (the, of, he, you etc), rather than content words (football, opera) was calculated.  This match predicted the degree to which couples would be mutually interested in meeting again over above their perceived similarity with their partner or the number of words spoken during the 4 minutes.  In the second part of the study, instant message text between couples who met again was analysed.  Again, the match between function words was found to predict how likely the couples were to be together 3 months later.

This supports that NLP concept of matching in order to produce rapport.  In the first, 4-minute meeting, language patterns that matched, not in content, but in form, were found to influence whether the couple were mutually interested in meeting again.  We are not conscious of the function words we use, so this processing must take place subconsciously, demonstrating, in support of NLP principles, the degree to which the language patterns of others are being analysed without us realising that we are doing this. These language patterns seem then to determine commonality with others, and therefore our preferences. This study therefore provides a specific case in which the principles of NLP language matching have been shown to influence behaviour positively, and demonstrates the degree to which our subconscious mind can influence us.

The second piece of research looked at an aspect of metaprogammes.  If you would like to hear about this research, please e-mail me at trish@kaizen-training.com and I will send you the information.

Posted Sunday, January 9th, 2011 in Changing, Coaching, Communication Skills, Continuous Improvement, Kaizen, Leadership, Leading, Neuroscience/Psychology, Personal Development, Sales, Influencing, Negotiating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.