This is a set of terms & key concepts used in Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Attention
Attention
The use of external senses and internal representational systems to identify and choose the content of thoughts and activities. Attention can be conscious or unconscious or a combination of both. Where one places one’s conscious or unconscious attention has an effect on cognitive processes. First attention or the attention of the conscious mind is limited. (See conscious awareness). Second attention refers to the processes and organisation of the unconscious mind.
Associated
Experiencing the present with all your attention; seeing, hearing and feeling the living action that is taking place in the moment. For referring to memory or imagination, living a past or future experience from your viewpoint of the time; seeing, hearing and feeling as if you are present in that moment.
As If frame
A way of shifting into a different perceptual framework, and thus obtaining another quality of information. This can be especially useful if the content you are thinking about involves a stuck feeling. To use an “as if” frame, think of what it would be like As if you had the needed resource.
Anthropology
The study of man in his / her various environments.
Anchoring
Applying a gesture, touch, or sound just before a state peaks, either in oneself or someone else, so that the anchored state can be re-activated by reapplying that gesture, touch or sound. A smell can also be used as an anchor. Eg. as you remember the smell of a rose, you may find a memory of some experience that involved roses coming to mind. Psychologists recognise the pattern of anchoring as stimulus response conditioning.
Analogue Shaping
Shaping the body posture, breathing and movements of the subject.
Analogue
Continuous change over time: continuous movement. An example is the light dimmer switch in contrast to an ordinary light switch which is either on or off (digital).
Aligned Perceptual Positions
A term coined by Connirae Andreas to describe the process she developed to achieve clearly well sorted perceptual positions. When in First Position, seeing out of your own eyes, hearing with your ears at their location, and feeling in your own body, with only your feelings. When in Third Position, seeing self and other, hearing both of them, and only experiencing feelings about the interaction. When in Second Position, seeing, hearing and feeling as if the other. See perceptual positions. Each perceptual position has a particular organisation as a means of accessing high quality information.
Accreditation
Having official recognition by a national government through a government body, government department, Act of Parliament or Royal Charter with reference to a set of government approved standards. In the case of educational or vocational courses, accreditation confers recognition of the qualification offered and an assurance of adherence to a government approved set of standards for quality.
Behavioural Technologies
Systems and models of psychology orientated to changing and extending human behaviour.
Behavioural Psychology
A school of psychology which deletes internal cognitive processes from its descriptions of psychology. An example of Western society’s predilection for first attention.
Behaviour
Any human activity, this includes internal thought processes, such as visual, auditory or kinaesthetic processing and involuntary as well as involuntary movement such as blinking or heart beat.
Backtrack
A review, both verbal and non-verbal, of the last portion of a discussion, presentation or set of instructions.
Cybernetic epistemology (systems epistemology)
An orientation to pattern and the relationship between parts of a system, rather than usingquantification, and reductionism as in Newtonian physics. Cybernetic epistemology is based on the premise that living systems such as a person, family or ecology function on different rules to the world of physics. (See Epistemology and Systems Thinking).
Culture
The generally agreed upon maps within a particular community of people which guide behaviour. These agreed upon maps form collectively a consensus reality for the group and generally operate outside conscious awareness.
Cultural conditioning
Cross-pacing
Criterion (S), Criteria (P)
Context
Content Reframing
Conscious awareness
Congruence
Dovetailing Outcomes
Distortion
Dissociation
Discovery Frame
Digital
Description (map, model)
Deletion
Deep Trance Identification
Ethology
The comparative study of the behaviour of creatures, which include humans, living in their natural environment. Used to be known as ‘natural history’ before humans were included in the study.
Ericksonian Hypnosis
Communication models developed from studies of the innovative psychiatrist Dr Milton H. Erickson, for working with an individual’s subjective experience. In contrast to traditional Hypnosis, which uses ritual inductions and direct suggestion, Ericksonian hypnosis stresses the importance of respecting the uniqueness of each individual and the development of trance states shaped for that person. Subsequently, an Ericksonian approach to hypnosis involves calibration, the use of context and indirect suggestion to facilitate learning within the individual. In Ericksonian hypnosis the relationship between guide and subject is important, and therefore attention is given to rapport, communication, high quality information gathering and feedback.
Epistemology
The study of how we know what we know, how creatures or groups of creatures, including humans, from families to cultures, societies and the global living system, think, and decide. It reveals the premises underlying outer behaviour and inner thinking. These premises may be based on the history of society and the individual, and they set filters which allow or limit the passage of new information of difference into the mind. Sub-systems such as an individual, or a family may have a particular epistemology. Systems such as an extended family, culture or society may have a dominant epistemology, and the greater system of interconnected life has a number of epistemology’s. The dominant epistemology of the West is still based on Cartesian mind-body dualism, although some thinkers perceive this to be in error. They believe it to be a major contribution to the present imbalance and damage to the greater system of life on earth.
Endorsement
A statement of recognition or approval from a non-official and non-government body or individual. Can be a signal honour and provide a boost to credibility when given by a credible or knowledgeable person. Endorsement does not denote or confer offical recognition nor accreditation.
Emotional states – mapping and shifting
It is possible to unpack and define the structure of emotional states, whether experienced as enhancing or limiting to the individual. Once a particular emotion has been mapped out, the structure of the state in question can be altered if desired, to create something more useful for oneself.
Emotion
A sequence of internal representations and external sensory input, usually ending with a kinaesthetic (hence the colloquial term “feeling”). An emotion may occur in response to sensory input or internal representation, whether these activities are conscious or unconscious. Compare with “Thought; a sequence of internal representations and external sensory input”.
Elicitation
The art through communication of getting a particular response or piece of information from someone. As practitioners of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Ericksonian hypnosis, we are involved in eliciting from clients the resources they need to take themselves from the present state to their desired outcome.
Elegance
In NLP elegance describes the performance of a particular pattern in a streamlined, efficient, and natural way. Elegance denotes the minimum activity that is necessary and sufficient to produce the desired outcome with acceptable and ecological consequences. “The minimal number of distinctions necessary to provide an effective replication of the talent” (Grinder, DeLozier and Bandler, 1977).
Ecology
The process of considering the effects of any change in behaviour across a number of time frames, situations and places for self and others. What are the consequences now, in the future, for oneself, for significant others, in various contexts such as home, career, lifestyle, as well as possible effects on the physical environment. The use of the answers to these questions is determined by the values held important by that individual.
Frame
Flexibility
First Position
First Order Change
Feldenkrais method
Feedback
Features
Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt
Genius State
Generative Change
Generalisation
Homeostasis
Internal representation
The pictures, sounds and feelings that we make on the inside; our thoughts. Our internal representations, also known as mental maps, govern our behaviour in the world.
Internal negotiation
The act of separating out different parts of oneself which appear to want different and conflicting outcomes for the whole person. Having elicited each part’s outcome, one can ascertain the function of each outcome, and chunk up through logical levels to a point where each part shares beliefs, values and a common outcome. It is then possible to align the parts to the common cause, and sometimes integrate them into each other.
Intention
The reason or purpose behind a specific piece of behaviour. The answer to the question, “What did you do that for?”. Intention is not always apparent from behaviour, and is deemed to be positive, at least for the person doing the behaviour, according to their model of the world.
Integration
Integration is the act of embodying learned material, and is mediated through the vestibular apparatus. This specialised sense enables us to live in the whole of ourselves, experience states of pleasure and is involved with spatial orientation and movement towards our outcomes in the external world.
Information
Gregory Bateson describes information as “news of difference” (Mind and Nature; A necessary unity, 1979). Our sensory apparatus and neurology responds to difference in the world as information.
Incongruence
A partial or divided response which is indicative of uncertainty in the mind of the respondent. An incongruent response can be elicited in someone by offering them incongruent communication (mixed messages) or insufficient information with which to operate. Where internal conflict is already apparent, there is a shortage of information in the individual’s own system. Incongruence can be simultaneous, as described, or sequential, in which case the subject appears to be congruent in favour of an action while in a given state and equally congruently against the same action when in a different state.
Imprint
In most animals imprinting is the triggering of an innate instinctive behaviour, such as attachment to parents or parent substitutes, during a critical or sensitive time period. With most animals imprinting is irreversible. In humans imprinting is reversible, and takes place in many formative situations in which beliefs and values are learned.
Identity
The conventional concepts of self image, self esteem and self concept are examples of identity. In this work the construct of identity includes the way we see, hear and feel about ourselves. An identity representation of this type, aligned and matching in all senses is a significant pattern found in individuals who are able to bring their dreams to fruition.
Kinesics
The formal study of body language.
Linguistics
Lead System
Leading
Multiple Descriptions
Model of the World
Modal Operator
Modelling (modeling) see also, (replicating talent) (NLP Modelling)
Mission Statement
Mismatching
Milton Model
Methodology
Meta Programs
NLP Modelling
New Code
Neuroscience
Neuro-logical Levels
Neuro Linguistic Programming
Outcomes
Other than conscious Mind
Olfactory
Psychographic Space
The use of the space around an individual or group of individuals to influence the person/s placing and accessing of internal representations. A simple example is placing words for children to learn to spell, high up on the class room walls so that visual accessing takes place. The art of shaping psychographic space can be more sophisticated than this example.
Presuppositions
Anything which is assumed, not stated, and can be inferred by referring to the source of the presupposition, be it an utterance, a sentence, a model, book, etc. For example, in the sentence, ‘you have knocked it over again,’ the presupposition is that you have knocked it over before. Cultural presuppositions are the unstated shared beliefs and understandings found in a culture. Personal presuppositions include beliefs and values which are important to an individual, although often outside conscious awareness. A quick way to elicit conscious awareness of anyone’s presuppositions is to expose the person to a context in which their presuppositions are not shared by others.
Present State
In NLP the present state is a description of the current cognitive and emotional state of an individual or group of individuals with reference to an outcome that they have selected. A Neuro-Linguistic Programmer may assist an individual or group to take an inventory of their Present State.
Primary/Preferred System
The favoured representational system an individual uses in a particular situation or context. Used to be thought permanent but is now known to be too fleeting to label for use.
Practical dream
Is a well formed vision represented in all the senses, placed in an appropriate position in the individual’s future. This type of vision acts to set a direction and motivate an individual at both a conscious and unconscious level. To have the vision work effectively as a Practical Dream, it is essential to resolve any objections, especially those at the level of belief or identity.
Posture, breathing and psychological state
The way we hold and move our physical selves in space has a direct affect on our psychological and emotional states as well as on our patterns of thinking. Learning additional movement patterns through the Feldenkrais method or the Alexander Technique enables greater flexibility of thinking and behaviour. Conscious access to the posture and movement patterns which accompany resourceful states allows the individual to recreate those states at will.
Physiology
Matters pertaining to the physical body and its use. The general posture and breathing of the individual is highly correlated with psychological state and cognitive processes. Note for yourself the difference in ‘physiology’ when contrasting a resourceful and unresourceful state eg. excitement and interest compared to depression.
Phonological Ambiguity
A word with different meaning and sometimes different spelling which sounds the same. eg. Heal and heel.
Personal evolution
The interaction of pattern, communication and relationship in our ongoing experience leading to new learning and new choices in one’s behavioral flexibility.
Qualities
Emotional responses to any experience.
Resourceful State
Resource
Representational Systems
Representation
Requisite Variety
Reimprinting
Reframing
Reductionism
Reality Check
Systemic thinking
Submodalities
Strategy
State Choice
State
Simulation Programming
Sensory Cues
Sensory based Description
Sensory Acuity
Trance
Time Orientation
Timelines
Through Time
Third Position
Third Order Change
Unspecified Verbs
Universal Quantifiers
Unconscious mind (other than conscious mind)
Visual
Vestibular System
Values
Well-formedness Conditions