Meta Programs

Meta Programs describe the basic building blocks of your personality. There are four basic programs that are based on the personality types first described by Jung. These were later extended, initially by Isabella Briggs-Meyers, to include twenty-four other processes that control personality of which the main sixteen are included here. They are taught as part of the Neuro Linguistic Programming master practitioner program.

A number of these Meta Programs are important in understanding what it is that motivates us.

The 4 Basic Meta Programs

  • 1. Attitude Preference Introverts prefer to spend time alone in the world of thoughts and ideas. Extroverts prefer to be with other people in a world of people and things.
  • a) Introvert
  • b) Extrovert

  • 2. Internal Process Intuitors prefer to perceive the possibilities, the relationships and meanings of experiences. Sensors prefer to experience the immediate, real practical facts of life.
  • a) Sensor
  • b) Intuitor

  • 3. Internal State Thinkers are dissociated (they are looking at themselves) and will make decisions objectively and impersonally, considering both the causes of events and where decisions may lead. Feelers are associated (looking through their own eyes) and make judgements personally and subjectively, weighing the value of choices based on their past and

    on how these values matter to others.

  • a) Thinking
  • b) Feeling

  • 4. Adaptive Response A judger wants to run his own life and prefers to live in a decisive, planned and orderly way. They aim to control and regulate events. A perceiver wants to let his life happen and will prefer to live life in a spontaneous, flexible way. they aim to understand life and adapt to it.
  • a) Judger
  • b) Perceiver

    • The Complex Meta Programs


  • 1. Direction Filter This determines whether you have an approach or avoidance type of personality. Of all the meta programs this is the main control for motivation. A 'Towards' person is motivated by rewards, praise, positive feedback and future goals. An 'Away from' person is motivated more by threats, fear of failure, or avoiding negative possibilities.
    Toward Toward with a little Away Both Toward and Away equally Away with a little Toward Away

  • 2. Reason Filter This determines whether you are motivated by possibilities in life or by obligations or necessities. Possibility oriented people respond best to ideas that increase their choices. Necessity people respond to ideas that give them a clear-cut path. The second most important of the meta programs for motivation.
    Possibility
    Both
    Necessity

  • 3. Frame of Reference Filter This relates to how you judge the results of your actions. Whether they judge themselves how well they have done (internal) or whether they rely on the opinion of others (external).
  • Internal
  • Internal with External Check
  • Balanced
  • External with Internal Check
  • External

  • 4. Convincer Representational Filter Is the preferred sensory way that you can be convinced by something.
  • a) See
  • b) Hear
  • c) Read
  • d) Do

  • 5. Convincer Demonstration Filter Determines how long or how often something has to occur before you are convinced by it.
  • a) Automatic
  • b) Number of Times
  • c) Period of Time
  • d) Consistent

  • 6. Management Direction Filter Determines your preference for managing your life and those around you.
  • b) Self Only
  • a) Self and Others
  • c) Others Only
  • d) Self but Not Others

  • 7. Action Filter Determines how much energy you put into pursuing your life's goals. It determines how quickly you will take action.
  • a) Active
  • b) Reflective then Active
  • c) Reflective
  • d) Inactive

  • 8. Affiliation The group role you prefer, especially in a working environment.
  • a) Independent Player
  • b) Team Player
  • c) Management Player

  • 9. Work Preference Filter Determines the environment you prefer to work in.
  • a) Things
  • b) Systems
  • c) People

  • 10. Primary Interest Filter Determines what interests you most in any given situation.
  • a) People
  • b) Place
  • c) Things
  • d) Activity
  • e) Information

  • 11. Chunk Size Filter Determines how you best receive and incorporate information and your outlook on life.
  • a) Specific
  • b) Global
  • c) Specific to Global
  • d) Global to Specific

  • 12. Relationship Filter A major process in the way that we understand and make decisions
  • a) Sameness
  • b) Sameness with Exception
  • c) Sameness and Differences Equally
  • d) Differences with Exception
  • e) Differences

  • 13. Emotional Stress Response Predicts how you will react in high stress situations. Dissociated people may seem cold and unfeeling, but they react to work pressures unemotionally and are good in high stress situations. Associated people may seem too emotional in high stress situations so are more suited to low stress personal contact work.
  • a) Thinking
  • b) Feeling
  • c) Choice

  • 14. Time Storage Filter In time people are not as aware of the duration of time and are less punctual . Through time people are far more aware of the passing of time and are good at planning. This characteriostic determines how we access memories and how we use memories.
  • a) Through Time
  • b) In Time

  • 15. Modal Operator Sequence This determines what you say to motivate yourself. You do this by combining possibilities and necessities in a specific order.

  • 16. Attention Direction Filter Where your thoughts are directed when interacting with other people.
  • a) Self
  • b) Others

    • There are other meta programs but they are fairly recent additions and do not deal directly with our current study of motivation.

    Return to Motivation page from Meta Programs page


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