Omnipotent NLP? What's wrong with people's "programming" and why it doesn't work?

 

Adherents of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) are convinced that the human brain can be controlled using special techniques. Supposedly, you can make almost a puppet out of a person who will blindly follow commands. But the reality is far from their ideas. For more information, see our article. The history and essence of NLP

NLP refers to a set of techniques that help both in self-development and in managing the actions of another person. It works, as the proponents of the theory claim, like the keys on a computer. Moreover, it is supposedly possible to "program" both others and oneself. For example, for a career, success and wealth. The founders of NLP in the 1970s were linguist John Grinder and Richard Bandler, a student studying cybernetics. Hence the connection with programming and the word. The training and books on NLP brought Grinder and Bandler a lot of money. However, they subsequently quarreled and sued for the right to own the brand. Everyone began to develop their own direction. And the number of NLP techniques was growing. Here are some popular techniques. - Calibration. This is the name given to observing the interlocutor and recognizing his non-verbal signals. It is believed that by body posture, facial muscle tension, hand position, and eye movement, one can understand a person's thoughts and intentions. - Supposedly experienced calibrators are even able to accurately detect lies. The fact that non-verbal signals can be ambiguous and depend on context and cultural characteristics is not taken into account. - Adjustment. In this technique, you need to copy the behavior of the interlocutor, do mirror actions: change your posture, adjust the rhythm of breathing, voice, and also use the words spoken by the interlocutor. Such synchronization is supposedly capable of leading to an almost hypnotic state, and a person will obey commands. - Anchoring. The technique, according to NLP proponents, is based on conditioned reflexes. An anchor can be a sound, a smell, or a touch. This is how it works: when a person experiences the right emotion, for example, joy, then you need to put your hand on his shoulder. If repeated, the pattern will become fixed. And over time, everything will start to work in the opposite direction: touching the shoulder will cause joy. NLP adherents believe that this is how you can reprogram yourself: for example, put a rubber band on your wrist, and if you have negative thoughts or want to return to a bad habit, pull it off and thereby hit yourself. It is believed that pain and discomfort will reduce the craving for destructive behavior and begin to be associated with discomfort. A wave. It is believed that many attitudes are "encoded" in the human brain. You can get rid of them by selecting a "cheat code". To do this, you need to detect the trigger that triggers the unwanted behavior and present it as an external image. Then replace the negative image with a positive one. For example, visualize yourself with a snow-white smile and smooth skin, and the counter-image will be a person with a cigarette or alcohol. The images should change at a snap of your fingers, a wave, or another signal. Thus, it is supposedly possible to get rid of bad habits and set a positive top for the flow of life. Redefinition. replacing a word used in the formulation of a belief or goal with a new one with a different connotation or euphemism. NLP adherents are convinced that, for example, the right key can help you lose weight. Supposedly, it is necessary to formulate a goal not through the word "lose weight", because it is etymologically related to the word "thin", that is, worse. It is argued that if you replace this negative component of goal setting with the right "build", then things will go much better. But, alas, the reality turns out to be much more complicated. Such a "program" is hardly able to cope with long-term eating habits or an eating disorder.

Why NLP is popular

There are many books written on NLP. The network is packed with a huge number of videos and articles explaining the essence of the technique and teaching techniques. There are thousands of NLP groups on social media.

Sometimes manipulation works, but that's not the merit of NLP. People have been using various kinds of techniques since time immemorial, sometimes unknowingly. Manipulation can also be used by those who have not completed any NLP courses. For example, we unconsciously mirror a person we like. And another NLP technique called reframing, that is, presenting a situation in a new, more positive light, is often used in marketing. So, sellers do not say that the product is stale, but assure that it was waiting for you. And people use adjustments to establish communication. For example, you need to start communicating with someone with a joke, but with someone it's better to be serious. The creators of NLP simply noticed certain patterns and brought them under their theory. The desire to control others. Proponents of NLP promise that with the help of their techniques it will be possible to "read" people, and then influence them to achieve their goals. NLP promises to help you break bad habits and manage yourself. Supposedly, with the help of "programming" you can set yourself up for success, quit smoking, drink alcohol, start waking up early, learn to concentrate and not pay attention to what others are saying. NLP positions itself as a science. References to scientists like Ivan Pavlov, special terminology and formulas inspire confidence among others. The name of the theory sounds scientific. But scientists still consider NLP to be pseudoscience. What's wrong with NLP and why it's a Pseudoscience

For more than half a century of NLP's existence, it has not been possible to prove its effectiveness. The methods failed the scientific community's tests. Scientists are unanimous — this is pseudoscience. In 1985, a group of scientists tried to test whether NLP techniques could be used to combat the fear of public speaking, as promised by the founders of the Grinder and Bandler concept. As a result, it turned out that the session had the same effect as a simple one-hour wait. The NLP theory of the direction of gaze during a lie has also not been confirmed. American scientists have studied where people look when they tell the truth and lie, but they have not found any correlations. NLP techniques also proved to be powerless against depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, drug addiction, eating disorders, and a number of other diagnoses. Polish psychologist Tomasz Witkowski examined 300 articles on NLP and concluded that only 18.2% of them confirm the benefits of the techniques. 54.5% of the articles refuted the effectiveness of NLP, and 27.3% did not give unambiguous results. Moreover, NLP is based on outdated ideas about the structure of the brain, that the right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for creativity, and the left hemisphere for logic and calculations. Modern science has long refuted this. A person does not lose a number of functions in case of damage to one of the hemispheres. Also, the brain is not like a computer and does not have a set amount of memory. Stanislav Skorik, a psychologist and author of scientific articles, pointed out that NLP takes superficial knowledge from linguistics and programming, ignores modern achievements of neuroscience, and also distorts technical terms.

In addition, NLP techniques are not always effective because people can react unpredictably. By and large, a person cannot be forced to do what he does not want, even if it is a very complex manipulative technique.

Conclusions

The myth of the omnipotence of NLP is propagated mainly by those who sell courses or books related to this field of knowledge. This can be called a marketing ploy. Of course, there will be no harm if you start mirroring the other person on a date or during an interview. But NLP should not be taken seriously. Such techniques should definitely not be used if you need to cure phobias, depression and other mental disorders. In this case, it is necessary to choose methods with proven effectiveness.