Saturday, October 26th, 11am. JALT2013, Kobe Convention Center, Portopia Kobe, October 25th - 28th.

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Metaprograms as a Tool for Critical Thinking in Reading and Writing Second JALT Critical Thinking SIG forum Cullen, Brian - Nagoya Institute of Technology cullen.brian@gmail.

1 Metaprograms as a Tool for Critical Thinking in Reading and Writing Second JALT Critical Thinking SIG forum Cullen, Brian - Nagoya Institute of Technology cullen.brian@gmail.com Saturday, October 26th, 11am JALT2013, Kobe Convention Center, Portopia Kobe, October 25th - 28th. Summary This presentation examines how students can develop and apply critical thinking skills and literacy to the comprehension of texts. In particular, the presenter will explore how the development of reader awareness and writing for a specific audience can be facilitated by using the concept of metaprograms. Metaprograms are a means of understanding different reading/writing styles by examining personality types. Metaprograms have their origins in Carl Jung's concepts of psychological types and Myers-Briggs personality typing, and they were later developed by the field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming into a comprehensive framework for identifying and utilizing over 50 personality characteristics. More recently, they have been used as the basis of human resource management and sales tools such as the Lab Profile (Charvet, 2012). The presentation will introduce eight metaprogram distinctions and show they can be used to develop EFL writing tasks which promote critical thinking, literacy, and reader/writer awareness. Why Use Metaprograms? Why are metaprograms (or similar classifications of cognitive style) useful in developing critical thinking? One important facet of developing critical thinking skills in our students is fostering the ability to recognize the different cognitive styles of others and to be able to use a variety of styles oneself to match the needs of any situation. As an example of recognizing cognitive styles, imagine one of your students in a future situation, preparing a financial projection or information presentation in which classical critical thinking skills such as analysis, logic, and forecasting are essential. Other members of the group may not be using the same skills as our student and instead may have a cultural, linguistic, organizational, or personality bias towards a more emotionally-driven cognitive style. In order for our students to relate effectively to the other team members and to achieve the desired outcome, having the flexibility to at least understand this different cognitive style will provide a foundation for the behavioural flexibility to create win-win situations that might not have been otherwise considered. In this case, a small concession of some emotional benefit can be offered to the person with the emotionally-based cognitive style without sacrificing the primary outcome. It is also beneficial to be able to use a range of cognitive styles. The student who successfully uses classical critical thinking skills in carrying out a successful future deal may be less successful in creating harmony in his own household if he deals with his wife and children in the same way. Dealing optimally with the different situations encountered in life requires flexibility in cognitive style. Many problems that people encounter in their working and personal lives are due to a rigidity in cognitive style, an inability to recognize or use the cognitive style that the situation calls for. The law of requisite variety suggests that the element of a system that has the greatest flexibility has the ability to control the entire system. In other words, by becoming cognitively flexible, we can recognize and utilize others' cognitive styles and adapt to different situations in order to achieve our desired outcomes. One way to achieve this kind of flexibility in cognitive styles is through the learning and application of metaprograms. Metaprograms have their roots in the work of Carl Jung on human archetypes and were later developed in various ways by Myers-Briggs, the field of neuro-linguistic programming, and more recently in the LAB profile. Metaprograms (or Meta Programs) are cognitive strategies that people run all the time, ways that people sort information. They are an important way for people to filter their experiences so that they can be incorporated into their internal map of the world. Knowing someone s Metaprograms can actually help you clearly and closely predict people s states, and therefore predict their actions. Knowing someone s metaprograms can help to create rapport and to talk more precisely into that person s map of 1

2 the world. One important point about Metaprograms: they are not good or bad, they are just the way someone handles information. Eight of the more commonly used metaprogram distinction sets are outlined below along with a simple question for each that helps to explain its function. Each of the eight pairs can be viewed as a way to recognize a component of a person's cognitive style. The first four of the most commonly used metaprograms emerged from Jung s work on human archetypes and they are also used in the well-known Myers-Briggs personality test ( Elsewhere (Cullen et al, 2013), I have calculated and described the distributions of these four types within the populations of the United States and Japan. While the Myers-Briggs test asks many questions to determine type, it is usually possible to get useful results by asking the simple questions below. These questions were devised by Tad James. 1. Attitude Towards the External World (Introvert Extrovert) When it s time to recharge your batteries, do you prefer to be alone (Introvert) or with people (Extrovert)? 2. Internal Process (Sensor Intuitor) Intuitors are interested in possibilities, relationships, & meanings of events. Sensors are interested in immediate practical facts. If you were going to study a certain subject, would you be more interested in the facts and their use now (Sensor) or would you be more interested in the ideas and relationships between the facts, and their applications in the future (intuitor) 3. Internal State (Thinker Feeler) Do you make decisions relying more on logic and reason (Thinker) or on personal values and feelings (Feeler)? 4. Adaptive Response (Judger Perceiver) The Judger is controlling, orderly, and decisive. The Perceiver is flexible and spontaneous. If were going to do a project together, would you prefer that it were outlined, planned, and orderly (Judger), or would you prefer if we were able to be more flexible in the project (Perceiver)? There are many other metaprograms discussed in NLP. Michael Hall and others have identified more than 50. Here are four more useful ones. 5. Direction Filter (Towards Away) Towards people move towards what they like. Away people move away from what they don t like. What do you want in a relationship? What do you want to do with your life? The person will talk either about what they positively want (Towards) or what they don t want (Away). 6. Frame of Reference (External Internal) How do you know when you ve done a good job? Do you just know inside (internal) or do you know from what someone tells you (external)? 2

3 7. Relationship Filter (Matcher Mismatcher) What is the relationship between what you were doing last year and what you are doing this year? The person will either describe similarities (Matcher) or differences (Mismatcher). 8. Convincer Strategy This is a common metaprogram in the use of NLP in sales or business. There are two questions. Question 1: How do you know is good? After asking this question you will probably get one of four answers. 1) I have to see it. (So, you should show them something to persuade them) 2) I have to read about it. (You should give them a brochure etc.) 3) I have to hear about it. (You should tell them verbally) 4) I have to do it/ feel it/work with it. (You should them let them touch the product) Question 2: How many times or for how long do you have to see it/read about it/hear about it/do it before you are convinced it s good? Once you know the person s convincer strategy, you can tailor your words to match it. For most metaprograms, people will fall somewhere between the two extremes. It is important to keep in mind that metaprograms can also be context-dependent. For example, a person could have a different convincer strategy for personal relationships and for business. Using Metaprograms in EFL Literacy & Critical Thinking Skills Helping students to be flexible in writing in order to reach different kinds of people Considering the purpose for writing; identify for example is your purpose to induce fear (away) or to inspire (towards) Helping students to understand how other writers/readers/people view the world Sample EFL Reading/Writing Tasks Using Metaprograms Examine style of particular writer Recognize purposes of writer Identify a particular target audience for your writing Analyse and Create a Sales letter Assess your classmates work and figure out their style Write a targeted letter applying for a job Write deliberately using a different style to your own Some Further Reading Asby, R. (1952). An Introduction to Cybernetics. See for details. Charvet, S.R. (2012). Words That Change Minds: Mastering the Language of Influence. Kendall Hunt Pub. Cullen, B., Mulvey, S. & Matsui-Hayes, A. (2013). Metaprograms for Literacy Development and Critical Thinking. Proceedings of the 2012 PanSig Conference. 3

4 Sample Reading/Writing Activity The letter below has been written carefully to match the eight metaprograms of a potential customer called John. Identify the 8 metaprograms. 1. Extrovert / Introvert 2. Intuitor / Sensor 3. Thinker / Feeler 4. Judger / Perceiver 5. Matcher / Mismatcher 6. Towards / Away 7. External / Internal 8. Convincer Strategy: See Hear Read Do No. of Times: Dear John, I am writing today to tell you about a great training opportunity that could change your whole business not just a few little things, but the way that you look at everything. Our training seminar is set up so that you have the chance to interact and learn from other people. Group learning is powerful and can help you to energize yourself with the knowledge and expertise of others. When you think logically about this offer, I am sure that you will come to the conclusion that this will really help your business. Each step of the training is rationally planned to help you make the changes required for higher sales. We have also attached a full schedule for the training program which breaks down the activities hour by hour to give you a complete picture of what you will be learning. When you think about what you were doing last year, do you really want to be doing the same thing next year? We are sure that you would much prefer to be doing something new to be really increasing your sales rapidly. This training seminar will help you to move towards your goals easily and quickly. You know that others around you may doubt the value of yet another training program, but when you consider your own values, you will realize that it is your own decision and that you can take that decision yourself regardless of external criticism. All I ask you do is to watch the three short videos on our website where you will see convincing evidence that this training seminar will work for you. Sincerely, Abe Michaels Follow-up Write a letter (or make a presentation) targetting someone with exactly the opposite set of metaprograms. 4

5 Extravert Intuitor Introvert Feeler Judger Sensor T inker Perceiver Away Metaprograms - mental processes which manage, guide and direct other mental processes Towards Mismatcher Internal External Matcher Convincer Strategy 5

The 2012 Pan-SIG Proceedings

The 2012 Pan-SIG Proceedings Literacy: SIGnals of Emergence The 11th Annual JALT Pan-SIG Conference June 16-17, 2012 - Hiroshima, Japan Edited & Published by JALT Pan-SIG Proceedings Editor-in-Chief Dr.