A Pragmatic Guide To Communication & Change.pdf - NLP Info Centre

arrives, we may not even like it, though we liked what was represented by the menu.
Ideally, we would be able to go into a restaurant, stop by the kitchen, and sample the food
before we decided. Even then, however, we couldn't be absolutely sure of what we would
get when the waiter brought our food. But at least we might have a better idea.
We cannot actually "sample" reality as the metaphor suggests. All we ever have are
menus: models of reality which we tend to believe are what they merely represent.
For every organism there are, limitations and regularities which define what will be
learned and under what circumstances this learning will occur. (p. 416)
Gregory Bateson
Steps to an Ecology of Mind
The construction of our models of the world is not a haphazard, disorganized process. It
is a highly efficient, ongoing procedure that operates throughout our whole lifetime. The
"information" used in the construction of our models, the experiences and memories of
experiences that form the building blocks of the structure, are forced through certain
constraints or "filters" on the model-building process. There are three constraints or filters
which have been identified by Bundler and Grinder.' These are neurological, social, and
individual constraints. Knowing the ways that these filters affect our models of the world
can assist us in better observing the behavioral patterns that will enable us to both predict
and influence with remarkable success the behavior of our clients, students, and others
with whom we cummunicol,
Neurological Constraints
It is through our neurological makeup, our sense organs and nerves, that we initially
receive information about the world. However, due to individual differences and the fact
that "raw" information is translated into bioelectric impulses, we are inexorably separated
from the "real world." Our neurology filters the experience, and, because everyone's
"filters" are slightly different, we can assume that everyone's model of the world will be
different. This phenomenon underlies the idea that we do not react to the "real world" but
rather on our own personal model of the world.
The Study of Perception
A term common to the study of perception is absolute threshold. This is the minimum
amount of physical energy necessary to stimulate a sense organ into firing off a signal to
the central nervous system (CNS). This means that there are potential sensory signals
from our environment that are never even "received" or sensed. Our sensory organs not
only channel information into our CNS but also effectively
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In his book Persuasion and Healing, Jerome Frank isolates some of the variables that
make up a successful therapeutic relationship, especially aspects of the relationslip that
result in the patient's "susceptibility to the therapist's influence." (p. 197) Of particular
interest here is the emphasis put on several variables: the client's expectations and his
trust in the therapist, and what he calls "personal attributes of the therapist." Frank found
that these factors greatly influence the outcome of therapy.
A study conducted by Strupp, et al.,s singled out the patient's trust in the therapist as a
singularly important variable. As they stated, "This faith in the integrity of the therapist as
a person may be called the capstone of a successful therapeutic relationship subsuming
other characteristics." (p. 36)