Changing the meaning assigned to an event changes the emotional response to it without altering the event.
The move itself has a strong research base under the label cognitive reappraisal, where it reliably reduces negative affect and appears in effective therapies. Its association with NLP has done it a disservice, since NLP's distinctive claims about eye movements and representational systems have not survived testing while this one has, under another name.
In practice
- A setback described as information rather than as a verdict produces a different next action from the same facts.
- A team told the reorganisation is a threat and a team told it is an opening behave differently, having been told the same thing.
- Possible explanations
- The explanation is appraisal: emotional response follows from how an event is interpreted, so changing the interpretation changes the response without changing the event.
- In its favour
- Under the name cognitive reappraisal this is one of the better-supported techniques in psychology, reliably reducing negative affect and appearing in effective therapies.
- Against it
- Its association with neuro-linguistic programming, whose specific claims have failed testing repeatedly, has damaged its reputation, and reappraisal works less well for uncontrollable and continuing stressors.
- Standing
- The technique is sound and its NLP provenance is not: NLP's specific claims have failed testing repeatedly. Cognitive reappraisal, studied under that name, is well supported and is the same operation with evidence attached.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Psychology & Behavior
- Essay
- Moralists, aphorists and the self-help tradition