What is MindSonar? (EN)

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MPA MindSonar^®

A solid tool for coaching, team building,
personnel management and marketing

Jaap Hollander
clinical psychologist
 

Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit.
(A wise man does not urinate against the wind.)
Roman Proverb, author unknown

 

An X-ray machine for the mind
If you had a machine that could measure how people think, how would you use it? MPA MindSonar is a psychological test that measures people’s meta-programs, their criteria (what they find important), the hierarchy in their criteria and what type of criteria they are.  MPA MindSonar is like an x-ray machine for the mind.

 

In MPA, thinking refers to a combination of self-talk, images and feelings (emotions and sensations), what is important (criteria and values) and what is true (beliefs or convictions). It is assumed - and this is different from most other psychological tests - that someone’s meta-programs and criteria will be different in different situations. For instance, when someone is leading a team, he or she may be thinking completely differently from when they are playing with their children. Therefore MPA MindSonar always measures someone’s thinking style for a specific context.

 

What is MPA MindSonar used for?

MPA MindSonar can be used wherever it is important to understand how people think. Applications may be personal (for example: helping a coaching client be a better parent) or business-related (for example: selecting effective salespeople). By and large, MPA MindSonar is used for the following purposes:

 

1. Improving communication

Adapting messages to the thinking style of the people receiving the message. This improves both reception and acceptance of the message.

 

2. Effective coaching

Helping people understand why they get stuck (i.e. experience unpleasant emotions and behavioral limitations) in certain situations and why they thrive (i.e. experience pleasant emotions and behavioral freedom) in other situations.
 

3. Adapting working and learning situations to people

Adapting the dominant thinking styles in working- and learning-situations to the thinking styles of the people involved. This makes it easier for people to work and learn.
 

4. Modelling excellence

Mapping out the thinking style that enables certain people to accomplish extraordinary things, in order to make that capability (more) learnable for others.
 

5. Developing psychological capital
Enhancing the valuable elements in people’s thinking styles and thereby increasing the psychological capital of a group or an organization.

 

6. Selecting candidates

Determining the thinking style that predominate among people who function well in a particular position. Selecting people who have a similar thinking style.

 

7. Understanding competencies

Mapping out the underlying structure, in terms of meta-programs and criteria, of a particular skill set or competency.

 

8. Changing culture

Identifying the dominant thinking style in a group, to determine which meta-programs could be adapted to change the culture in a desired direction.

 

Examples of some MindSonar projects
 

• Developing leadership in the Dutch military
  When an officer in the Dutch military forces is being prepared for a high ranking position, they start a leadership development training  of approximately one year. In this year they work on their communication, strategic and leadership competencies. At the beginning of the course an MPA profile is made and the candidate defines their own strengths and weaknesses as a potential high ranking officer. Their MPA profile is related to the competencies they want to develop (they choose five from a list of 12 competencies defined by the military). Their meta-programs and criteria are seen as a ‘lever’ to better enable them to develop these competencies. An officer might, for instance, want to develop a thinking style that has stronger ‘towards’-, ‘general’-, ‘people’- and ‘structure’ aspects, combined with more ‘yellow’ criteria (personal development and systems overview). During the year the officer has several conversations with a coach. At the end of the course, another measurement is done to determine if the target competencies have indeed been developed.
   
• Selling automobiles
  Selling automobiles in the top segment of the market usually involves several hours of personal contact between a sales person and the customer. In this segment personal relationships are an important factor influencing sales. All Dutch salespeople of one of the top automobile brands were profiled with MPA MindSonar.  Their meta-programs and criteria were related to the number of cars they sold per year. This way, the desired profile for a salesperson - with this brand - was calculated. The desired profile – where different meta-programs were given different weights - correlated highly with the number of cars sold. From then on, all candidates for sales positions were profiled with MindSonar. How similar their profile is to the desired profile, partly determines whether or not they are hired. Also, in the current sales force, salespeople who diverted from the desired profile were offered a training course, tailored to develop the underdeveloped meta-programs.

 

• Selecting jury members for freestyle horse riding
  A Dutch association for horse riding sports wanted to develop an objective basis for the selection of jury members for their freestyle competitions (concourse hippique). The monetary value of a horse depends on its score in this competition. So for horse owners, there are both emotional and financial interests at stake. The score, unlike that in other competitions like barrier jumping, depends entirely upon the subjective evaluation of the jury. The association hired two MPA professionals who profiled 12 outstanding jury members. They calculated and average profile and formulated a psychological explanation of why this profile described the thinking of a good jury member. The excellent jury members recognized both the profile and the explanation. This resulted in a desired profile, with relative weights for different meta-programs. Since then, every year hundreds of people wanting to become freestyle jury members, are profiled with MPA MindSonar. The MPA professionals present the selecting committee with a matching percentage for each candidate and they specify the meta-programs on which the candidate matches or mismatches the desired profile. The committee then coordinates their impressions from interviews with the MPA results to decide.
   
• Helping pedagogy interns adapt to their professional environment
  Before pedagogy students of a Dutch universitystart their internship, for instance in an educational institution, they are profiled with MPA MindSonar. Their supervisor, knowing the culture of the institutions where the students do their internships, can express that culture in terms of meta-programs and values. The supervisor, comparing the profile of the student with the culture of the institution, then predicts the kinds of obstacles that particular student is likely to encounter in that particular institution. Let’s say the institution’s culture is reactive, specific and information-oriented and the student has a proactive, global and activity-oriented profile. The supervisor can then predict that some people in the institution may experience the student as rash, uncontrollable, vague and inaccurate. The supervisor discusses this with the student and also how the student can respond, should this problem occur. This has advantages both for students and for the institution. If the predicted problems occur, the student is ready to respond adequately and this tends to prevent escalation and drop out.
   
• Keeping people involved in a volunteer organization
  A Dutch volunteer organization, promoting inter-ethnic understanding in schools, was having trouble retaining volunteers. MPA professionals profiled both the volunteers and the people recruiting them. They noticed that the recruiters and the older volunteers as well as the new volunteers all scored high on the meta-program ‘together’. Recruiters often enlist people with meta-programs similar to their own. In and of itself this seemed like a good strategy, because similarity tends to enhance rapport. Within the dynamics of this organization however, it had a contrary effect. Older volunteers, valuing togetherness and having had the experience that new people would leave the organization rather quickly, did not invest in the new people socially. Precisely because of their preference for togetherness, it was an emotional strain for them to see people leave. So they would focus on their in-group of older volunteers and more or less neglect the newcomers for the first few months. The newcomers, on the other hand, did not feel welcomed. This was a major setback, precisely because they too had a strong preference for  togetherness. Their response was to leave the organization, which in turn consolidated the belief of the older volunteers that there was no use in investing in newcomers. To break this vicious cycle, all the MPA professionals had to do, was to explain this to the older volunteers. As soon as they started giving more attention to the newcomers, the problem gradually disappeared.
   
• Banking and entrepreneurial attitude
  A large Belgian insurance bank defined a new corporate strategy in which it was important for their insurance brokers to develop a more entrepreneurial attitude.A central factor in this development was the relationship between the insurance brokers and the local insurance agents in the community. The company defined a list of key competencies for their brokers, related to dealing with these agents. All brokers were profiled by MPA professionals. Surprisingly, after a statistical analysis, it turned out that there was no significant relationship between thinking style, criteria and key competencies on the one hand and sales volume on the other hand. Further analysis revealed that this had to do with the targets that were being set. Because targets were set at a relatively low level, it did not matter much how brokers thought, what they found important and which competencies they had. The volume of sales was determined mostly by demand from the local insurance agents and the efforts of the brokers seemed to have little to do with it. This finding led the company to change the system of setting targets. After targets were adjusted, thinking style did make a difference. A training program was developed in which brokers were trained in those competencies that their MPA profile showed them to be lacking in.  For this project the company won a prestigious Training Award.

 

Where does the name come from?

'MPA' stands for Meta Profile Analysis. The term “MindSonar’ uses physical sonar technology as an analogy. Sonar shows us objects that cannot be seen by observing the surface of the waters. And sonar requires an expert to understand the exact nature of those objects.

 

Figure 1. MPA MindSonar logo

MPA MindSonar uses distinctions taken mainly from NLP (Bandler and Grinder, 1975, 1979). Most people taking the MPA Certification training are Master practitioners of NLP.

 

How does it work?

MPA MindSonar presents the respondent with 76 questions and two tasks (criteria sorting and criteria categorization). It also registers the time it takes the respondent to finish each test item. The English text is 95% ‘Globish’ (a simplified international version of English).

 

The program starts by explaining (both in text and audio) how the system works, what the respondent may expect and the importance of answering the questions based on how they think rather than how the would like to think or ought to think.  Next, the program  asks the respondent for which context he or she wants their metaprofile to be measured. Alternatively, this context may be predefined by the professional using the system, in which case the program simply states the context.

 

Once the context has been defined, the respondent is asked to concentrate on that context for a few moments. Simultaneously a piece of music is being played. This process is repeated twice later on, thereby anchoring awareness of the context to that particular piece of music. The respondent can change the music if they whish. A wide range of music styles is offered to choose from. Later on, during the questionnaire, the program will play the same music (‘fire’ the anchor) to stimulate continued awareness of the context.

 

Next, the program asks for identifying- and demographic information: name, birth date, educational level, work area, work function level and marital status.

 

Then the program asks the respondent to define four things they find important in the chosen context (four criteria). They are then asked to order their criteria from most to least important (hierarchy of criteria). He or she is then shown the four criteria and asked to define the opposites (for instance, the opposite of ‘vigor’ might be ‘weakness’ for a given respondent). Different respondents will define different opposites for the same criteria, thereby clarifying the meaning (complex equivalence) of that criterion.

 

The hierarchy (top two positions) is tested in the following way. The respondent is asked whether or not he or she would accept a small loss of criterion #2 in return for a large gain in criterion #1. For example: is he or she willing to accept a little loneliness in return for a lot of creativity? If the respondent does not accept the offer, they are directed back to their list of criteria and encouraged to make changes. Sometimes criteria are components of or conditions for other criteria. MindSonar resolves this by encouraging respondents to combine criteria.For instance, if a respondent believes that they can only be creative together with other people, they cannot accept some loneliness to get a lot more creativity, because the loneliness will in turn decrease their creativity…. The respondent is then advised to combine ‘creativity’ and ‘communication’ into one new criterion (‘creative communication’ for instance). This enables the respondent to create a ‘clean’ set of criteria (without direct dependencies) which can then be sorted.

 

Next, the respondent is shown one criterion and seven groups of two words representing seven Graves categories. He or she is invited to distribute 10 balls to indicate to what extent the criterion displayed is related to the Graves categories. This procedure is repeated for each of the four criteria defined earlier. The words indicating Graves categories are rotated. In the scoring the criteria carry more weight the higher they are in the hierarchy of criteria.

 

After doing the Graves categorization, the respondent is presented with 76 questions related to metaprograms. The number of questions per metaprogram varies between four and seven, depending on how many questions are needed to achieve the desired statistical reliability (Crombach’s Alpha = 0.7 or higher).

 

There are six types of test items for metaprograms.

 

• Identification items
  Photographs showing people thinking different things (in text balloons). The respondent indicate which person thinks most like them.
   
• Symbolic items
  The respondent chooses from a set of symbols.
   
• Avoidance items
  An avoidance question is asked ("What do you want to prevent?").
   
• Key word items
  The respondent chooses from different key word combinations.
   
• Proverb items
  The respondent chooses from two or three proverbs.
   
• Straightforward items
  The respondent is asked directly about the meta-program in question (“Do you think more like this or more like this?”).
   

MPA MindSonar also measures response times, i.e. how long it takes the respondent to answer the questions.

 

Meta-Programs measured

Meta-programs (Bailey 1995, Cameron-Bandler 1985, Charvet 1995), are patterns in people’s thinking. In the term ‘Neuro-Linguistic Programming’, the term ‘programming’ refers to mental strategies (sequences of inner images, sounds and feelings). Meta-programs are meta to these strategies; they describe general trends in the content of these strategies. Since most NLP-readers will be familiar with metaprograms, they will be described here only briefly. The following meta-programs are measured by MPA MindSonar:
 

·         Proactive (Preference for acting quickly and taking the initiative) versus

·         Reactive (Preference for waiting, considering and reflecting)

 

·         Towards (Focus on achieving goals) versus

·         Away From (Focus on avoiding problems)

 

·         Internal Reference (Using one’s own standards in evaluations) versus

·         External Reference (Using other people’s standards in evaluations)

 

·         Options (Preference for many different possibilities) versus

·         Procedures (Preference for step-by-step plans)

 

·         Maintenance (Preference for things staying the same) versus

·         Development (Preference for gradual change) versus

·         Change (Preference for fast and radical change)

(In overviews of metaprograms, the desire for stability/sameness or change/difference is often assumed to coincide with its perception. Someone with a desire for change is thought to also perceive more change. People, however, often desire change precisely because they do not perceive enough change and often desire stability when they perceive too much change. We have therefore chosen in MPA MindSonar to focus on the desire for – and not the perception of - stability or change).
 

·         Global (Focus on broad overview) versus

·         Specific (Focus on details)

 

·         People  (Focus on people) versus

·         Activities  (Focus on activities) versus

·         Information (Focus on information)

 

·         Concept (Focus on concepts andprinciples) versus

·         Structure (Focus on relationships between elements) versus

·         Use (Focus on practical applications)

 

·         Together (Preference for working closely together with shared responsibility) versus

·         Proximity (Preference for mutual support with individual responsibility) versus

·         Solo (Preference for working alone)

 

·         Matching (Focus on what is good and correct) versus

·         Mismatching (Focus on what is bad and incorrect)

 

·         Internal Locus of Control (Focus one how someone influences their circumstances) versus

·         External Locus of Control (Focus one how someone’s circumstances influence them)
 

·         Past (Focus on the past) versus

·         Present (Focus on the here-and-now) versus

·         Future (Focus on the future)

 

·         Visual (Focus on images and movies) versus

·         Auditory (Focus on sounds and words) versus

·         Kinesthetic (Focus on feelings and movement)

(These last three distinctions are sensory modalities rather than metaprograms. They are measured together with the metaprograms for the sake of convenience).

 

Criteria
Criteria are values. The indicate what someone finds important in a given context. In the TOTE-model (Test-Operate-Test-Exit) of goal directed behavior, the present situation is compared with a criterion to determine whether operations (actions) are necessary (Miller et al,  1960). Metaprograms can be understood as ways in which people handle their criteria. MPA MindSonarasks the respondent to define:

• Four criteria (four things they find important in the context their profile is measured for).
• A meta-criterion (what happens when the first four criteria are met).
• The opposites of all criteria (f.i. the opposite of ‘Inspiration’ might be, for a particular person, ‘Dullness’.
• The hierarchy of the criteria (their order of importance).

 

Categorizing criteria

Originally, MPA MindSonar simply took stock of people’s criteria by storing their verbal descriptions. This made it difficult to compare criteria, since different people attach different meanings to the same words. We wanted to be able to accurately define and compare criteria based on numbers. To achieve this, we needed a typology a values, and we chose the Graves (spiral dynamics) model. Graves theorized that there are eight value systems which evolved over the course of human history (Graves, 1970). He assumed that each value system flows from the previous one as a response to ever more complex living circumstances and the problems which are inherent in the last system. MPA MindSonar now measures the extent to which criteria are associated with seven Graves categories, using colors derived from ‘spiral dynamics’ theory (Beck and Cowan, 1996):

 

Purple drive

When someone has a strong purple drive, their criteria in that particular context have to do primarily with security and safety. Other key words for this drive are: belonging, tradition, feeling at home, togetherness and seniority.
 

Red drive

When someone has a strong red drive, their criteria primarily relate to power and respect—to getting respect in particular, but also to showing respect. They act impulsively, quickly and forcefully without thinking of the consequences. Other key words for this drive are: reputation, power, strength, honor and courage.
 

Blue drive

When someone has a strong blue drive, their criteria have to do primarily with order and security. Other key words for this drive are: discipline, reliability, duty and control.
 

Orange drive

When someone has a strong orange drive, their criteria have to do primarily with competition and winning. Other key words for this drive are: success, achievement, results, progress and influence..

 

Green drive

When someone has a strong green drive, their criteria have to do primarily with ideals and loyalty to the group. Other key words for this drive are: harmony, community, connectedness, love, social contact and consensus.
 

Yellow drive

When someone has a strong yellow drive, people criteria have to do primarily with learning and independence. Other key words for this drive are: creativity, analysis and personal growth.
 

The turquoise drive

When someone has a strong turquoise drive, their criteria primarily have to do with the big picture and a holistic vision. Other keywords for this drive are: responsibility for the earth as a whole, spirituality, balance and integration.

 

Gradual responding
MPA  MindSonarworks with a gradual responding system, meaning that the respondent does not have to make absolute yes-or-no choices. He or she indicates to what extent an alternative applies to him or herself by moving a ball (see figure 2).

 

 

Figure 2. Gradual scoring system

 

On-line administration
Respondents take the test via a web site on the internet. The report is available to the professional administering the test, one minute after the respondent finishes the test. No reports are sent to respondents directly.

 

MPA MindSonar report

The report describes 32 elements distributed over 13 meta-programs and seven criteria dimensions (Graves categories). The scores are expressed in numbers, graphs and interpretive texts.

Figure 3. Cognitive style diagram (Sonar diagram) with ‘Internal locus of control’, ‘Proactive’, ‘Internal reference’ and ‘Matching’ as dominant meta-programs (in that order) and ‘Learning’ (Yellow), ‘Competition’ (Orange) and Ideals (Turquoise) as dominant value systems.

Sonar diagram

The sonar diagram provides a quick overview of the most dominant meta-programs and value systems.

 

Figure 4. Bar chart (for the same profile as shown in Sonar diagram, figure 3).

 

Bar chart

The bar chart provides a complete overview of all meta-programs and value systems measured. The higher the bar, the higher the score. Behind the colored bars, lighter ‘shadows’ are shown, representing the averages of all profiles in the MPA database (currently containing 4000+ profiles).
 

Relative response times

The response times are listed below the bars. They are corrected the respondents average response time for all meta-programs and compensated for items containing three choices (which take longer to understand). Long response times indicate hesitation, short response time indicate certainty.
 

Interpretative text

An interpretative text of 30+ pages describes all the results verbally.

 

Licensing and certification

MPA MindSonar is exclusively available to licensed professionals who have obtained a certification by completing a 7-day training course. MPA Certification training covers subjects such as ‘Coaching and team building with MPA MindSonar’, ‘Teaching MPA workshops’, ‘Nonverbal expression of meta-program clusters’, ‘Basic psychological testing theory’ and ‘Calculating ROI on MPA-projects’.

 

International registry
An international registry of MPA MindSonar  professionalsis maintained by the Institute for Eclectic Psychology in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. This registry is publicly available at http://www.iepdoc.nl.

 

Figure 5. MPA license seal

 

Languages available
MPA MindSonar is available in English, French and Dutch.

 

Contact information

Jaap Hollander

 

 

Literature

Bailey, Rodger

LAB Profile website

1995, www.labprofile.com

 

Brown, Nigel

What makes a good educator? The relevance of meta programmes.

2004, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Oct, Vol. 29(5) pp. 515-533

 

Cameron-Bandler, Leslie; Gordon, David, and LeBeau, Michael

The Emprint Method: A Guide to Reproducing Competence

1985, Future pace

 

Bandler, Richard and Grinder, John

The Structure of Magic. A Book about Language and Therapy  

1975, Science & Behavior Books, Palo Alto

 

Bandler, Richard and Grinder, John

Frogs into princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming  

1979, Real People Press

 

Beck, Don and Cowan, Chris

Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change

1996, Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge UK

 

Charvet, Shelle Rose     

Words that change minds: mastering the language of influence

1995, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque Iowa

 

Graves, Clare W.

Levels of Existence: An Open Systems Theory of Values Levels of Human Existence

1970, Journal of Humanistic Psychology

 

Hollander, J.

Handboek MetaprofielAnlayse 6.1

2005, Metaprofiel b.v., Nijmegen.

 

Hustinx, Guus en Durlinger-van der Horst, Anneke

Voorbij je eigen wijze: effectief communiceren met metaprogramma’s in professionele relaties

2005, Nelissen, Soest

 

Kompagne, Janwillem
Samenhang tussen MPA MindSonar^®en Spiral Dynamics
2008, Artikel in het kader van MPA-certificering, Instituut voor Eclectische Psychologie, Nijmegen.
 

Miller, George A.; Galanter, Eugene and Pribram. Karl H.

Plans and the Structure of Behavior

1960, Henry Holt & Co.

 

Nijskens, Jean
0nderzoek naar de validiteit van MPA, deel 1

2002, zie http://www.iepdoc.nl/biblio/artikel_detail.asp?ID=71

 

Nijskens, Jean
0nderzoek naar de validiteit van MPA, deel 2

2003, zie http://www.iepdoc.nl/biblio/artikel_detail.asp?ID=71

 

Nijskens, Jean
0nderzoek naar de validiteit van MPA, deel 3

2004, zie http://www.iepdoc.nl/biblio/artikel_detail.asp?ID=71
 

Pokorny, Wilma
Selectie van BMW-verkopers met behulp van MPA
2006, persoonlijke communicatie

 

Wielders, Lot en Burghard, Jennet

Samenhang tussen MPA & de selectie en opleiding van juryleden voor de KNHS
2009, interne publicatie

 

Woodsmall, Marilyne and Wyatt

People Pattern Power: the Nine Keys to Business Success

1998, Next Step Press, Washington DC

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