The Perceptual Contrast Technique is actually a technique that piggybacks two or more other techniques, the Circle of Pain (a take-off on the Circle of Excellence, although any technique can be used as long as the state induced is a painful one) followed by the New Behavior Generator or any other technique or techniques that elicit a better, more productive state.

The purpose of this technique is to take advantage of The Principle of Perceptual Contrast. For example, if one lifts a 5 pound dumbbell just before lifting a 25 pound dumbbell, the 25 pound dumbbell may seem much heavier than if one had simply picked up the 25 pounder. Similarly, if one places a hand in hot water immediately preceding placing the same hand in cold water, the cold water may seem much colder. The principle is also at work in classic negotiation: If I ask you for something larger, knowing you will reject it, and you do so, my asking for something smaller as a compromise may appear to you to be much more of a concession than it actually is.

The Perceptual Contrast Technique is designed to steer the client away from the undesired behavior by moving the perceived difference in the undesired and desired behavior from a gap to a chasm, making the undesired behavior that much worse; making the desired behavior that much better, thereby propelling from the negative to the positive. Under ideal circumstances, the client's subconscious will learn that pleasure is not merely the absence of pain, so moving toward pleasure (i.e., what one desires) is far superior to merely avoiding what one does not want (i.e., pain). The technique is best deployed with clients having an “away from” meta program. It has been effective in my use of NLP for others in the following instances: academic achievement, smoking, relationship behavior, and sports performance.

Steps of Perceptual Contrast Technique

A. Identify Problem State – that which the client seeks to avoid.

B. Set up the Circle of Pain or other negative state that the client wishes to avoid. (You may find yourself preferring to steer clear of any adverse associations with circles if you plan on using the Circle of Excellence with the same client. If so, you can use a rectangle or square or other easily imagined geometric shape for this technique or change the Circle of Excellence to a triangle or other easily imagined geometric shape).

C. Access the Problem State and elicit the sub-modalities thereof, multiplying those submodalities VAKOG, calibrating for physiological indications of pain and discomfort. When the client has reached this stage, have him or her step into the circle. I suggest forgoing any physical anchor for this, preferring instead to merely describe the situation the client is stepping into. The point is simply to take the client down to the unpleasant depths so he/she can rise to higher heights, not to set a physical anchor for the former.

D. Separator State/Testing. Have the client step out of the circle and relax. Then have the client step back into the circle while you are describing the situation he/she is entering, and have he/she find how doing so fully elicits the adverse sub-modalities and feelings.

E. Repetition of Separator State/Testing. Repeat Step D four or five times or as many times as necessary to reach the point at which you feel the experience is set in the client's mind.

F. Desired Context. Explain to the client that from this point on, whenever you describe the situation under which the adverse state is elicited, you want him/her to step into the circle. Then describe the situation a minimum of twice, having the client step into the circle while you calibrate for physiological indicators of the negative state. Repeat until those indicators are observed.

G. Testing. Chaining is a non-issue in this phase of the technique. What we really want will be accomplished in the second phase of the technique (i.e., the second, more positive technique). We do, however, want to test by having the client step out of the circle, think about how he or she could avoid the pain or discomfort, and explain to us what they experienced (hopefully something painful and unpleasant).

H. Proceed to the second, more positive technique.

Example of Use of Perceptual Contrast Technique

In this example the client is prone to entering into problem romantic relationships by settling for any relationship with any woman he can find to move away from his perceived loneliness and frustration. The problem is compounded by his tendency to begin treating any relationship he enters as though it had existed for a long period of time (i.e., he treats the woman and the relationship as familiar long before either have reached any point of familiarity, from the language he uses when addressing her (e.g., “honey”) to the manner and places he attempts physical contact, making the woman uncomfortable enough to throw up barriers in the process).

In using the technique, I will use his meta program of away from pain and loneliness to elicit and make clear a more painful and uncomfortable state when he enters and attempts to keep a “bad” relationship than when he is in no relationship at all.

I first used a variant of the Circle of Excellence technique that I called, appropriately enough, The Circle of Ill-Suited Relationship Hell. In this variant, a state of pain and loneliness was achieved by eliciting his sub-modalities for pain and loneliness of the type he experienced when in a relationship that caused pain, frustration, and tension. After the sub-modalities were elicited (black, down and to the left, smell of burnt hair similar to the odor in the air right after someone has a perm done, slight taste of that smell on the tongue (partial synesthesia – how does that smell taste on your tongue?), about four feet tall by four feet wide by four feet deep with the feel of sandpaper), I had him double it, double it again, and double it again until the look of physical pain and discomfort came upon his face,before having him step into the circle while picturing himself entering into a relationship before qualifying a woman for suitability. I then explained that this may be his state every and any time that he thought of barging into a relationship, then had him go through this process four more times.

Immediately thereafter, I stated: “And as you remember your real desires, you may find that you feel you've been deceived somehow, that you've been tricked into taking action for any relationship instead of the actions necessary for a good one.” And then, taking advantage of the principle of perceptual contrast (in this case the wide range between the perceived pain from the The Circle of Ill-Suited Relationship Hell to the positive feelings engendered by the next exercise), I immediately launched into having him do the New Behavior Generator, using his younger self as the role model when he entered into his “good” relationships, feeling confident, independent and unneedy, taking his time and finding similarities of interests, activities, and belief systems as he enjoyed himself and his partner without hint of desperation. Again, I had him go through the procedure five times before moving on to another positive technique – one designed to see himself as the pursued rather than the pursuer to foster a sense of independence and completeness in seeking a relationship.

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