Instead of being grounded in contemporary, scientifically derived neurological theory, NLP is based on outdated metaphors of brain functioning...
[The originators] stated that they were not interested in establishing scientific validation of NLP but intended to portray what works. Hence, the authors only present anecdotal and testimonial data to support their [claims]. Even an elementary text on scientific method (for example, [How to Think Straight About Psychology]) details the myriad pitfalls of such a methodology and describes its irrelevance to legitimate theory building.
Also similar is the emphasis on “what works” rather than “what is true.” If a technique works for you, great! But there are advantages that practical advice backed by deep theories has over practical advice backed by wrong theories. For example, you’re better able to predict what will work not just for you but for other people, too.
As far as I can tell, what “works” about CT is the “CT-charting” method, which is actually just a particularly thorough application of consequentialism and goal clarification. I doubt that much of the benefit (if any) is coming from the special CT component, which seems to be unnecessary. Twelve hours spent clarifying your goals with an experienced guide does sound like something that should be valuable to people, but Leverage could take this useful exercise to the masses more effectively if they disconnected it from their unnecessary and weird-looking theory of psychology that hangs alone in theory space, apart from the grand edifice of modern science.
If it were up to me, I’d give it a non-kooky Cool Name for marketing purposes (like Getting Things Done™), do almost exactly the same thing, and let whatever psychology comes into it be the best of mainstream psychology, not Connection Theory.
Also similar is the emphasis on “what works” rather than “what is true.” If a technique works for you, great! But there are advantages that practical advice backed by deep theories has over practical advice backed by wrong theories. For example, you’re better able to predict what will work not just for you but for other people, too.
I don’t think that traditionally trained academic psychologists are very good at predicting outcomes of interventions.
I think the difference between a therapists who can predict outcomes and a therapist who doesn’t isn’t in the amount of academic backing of his practice but in whether he actually measures the outcomes of his own interventions and follows up with patients.
In the NLP world Roberts Dilt for example suggests a technique for curing allergies. Part of his advice is that every patient with a serious allergy is supposed to go through an allergy test by a real doctor after the intervention.
If you design decent feedback circles deep theory isn’t need to be able to predict.
Twelve hours spent clarifying your goals with an experienced guide does sound like something that should be valuable to people, but Leverage could take this useful exercise to the masses more effectively if they disconnected it from their unnecessary and weird-looking theory of psychology that hangs alone in theory space, apart from the grand edifice of modern science.
I don’t think that NLP has a bad track record when it comes to reaching people. Basing yourself on a weird-looking theory of psychology isn’t much of a problem for reaching most people.
Geoff Anders has said that of CT that “I believe it is false; my concern is with how useful it is.”
In many ways, Connection Theory reminds me of Neuro-linguistic programming. For example, here’s a quote from one of the scientific reviews of NLP, Von Bergen (1997):
Similarly, the documents describing Connection Theory make almost no use whatsoever of the details of “contemporary, scientifically derived neurological theory” (compare to my own Crash Course in the Neuroscience of Human Motivation). Instead, CT seems to be derived from the outdated folk theory sometimes called “belief-desire theory.” (To see why it’s outdated, I again refer readers to my Crash Course in the Neuroscience of Human Motivation).
Also similar is the emphasis on “what works” rather than “what is true.” If a technique works for you, great! But there are advantages that practical advice backed by deep theories has over practical advice backed by wrong theories. For example, you’re better able to predict what will work not just for you but for other people, too.
As far as I can tell, what “works” about CT is the “CT-charting” method, which is actually just a particularly thorough application of consequentialism and goal clarification. I doubt that much of the benefit (if any) is coming from the special CT component, which seems to be unnecessary. Twelve hours spent clarifying your goals with an experienced guide does sound like something that should be valuable to people, but Leverage could take this useful exercise to the masses more effectively if they disconnected it from their unnecessary and weird-looking theory of psychology that hangs alone in theory space, apart from the grand edifice of modern science.
If it were up to me, I’d give it a non-kooky Cool Name for marketing purposes (like Getting Things Done™), do almost exactly the same thing, and let whatever psychology comes into it be the best of mainstream psychology, not Connection Theory.
I don’t think that traditionally trained academic psychologists are very good at predicting outcomes of interventions. I think the difference between a therapists who can predict outcomes and a therapist who doesn’t isn’t in the amount of academic backing of his practice but in whether he actually measures the outcomes of his own interventions and follows up with patients.
In the NLP world Roberts Dilt for example suggests a technique for curing allergies. Part of his advice is that every patient with a serious allergy is supposed to go through an allergy test by a real doctor after the intervention.
If you design decent feedback circles deep theory isn’t need to be able to predict.
I don’t think that NLP has a bad track record when it comes to reaching people. Basing yourself on a weird-looking theory of psychology isn’t much of a problem for reaching most people.