Distinction Between Lead, Representational, and Reference Systems

Eye access cues are often misrepresented or misinterpreted. Here, several finer distinctions are introduced.

It is necessary to distinguish between a primary representational system, a lead system, and a reference system.

The primary representational system deals with the process of acquiring information, while the lead system relates more to remembering and retrieving that information.

The primary representational system can be recognized by the predicates used to describe how data was originally perceived.

The lead system can be identified through the eye movements someone makes while retrieving information from long-term memory (LTM). The reference system concerns the decision of whether the retrieved information is true or not, once it has been accessed and brought to awareness. The reference system is the one used to answer the question:

Is that really so? Very often, the reference system is the kinesthetic system.

It feels right!

Definitions from the NLP Dictionary:

Representational Systems

The modalities through which we perceive, store, and code information in our minds. Representational systems are also known as sensory systems or perceptual channels through which we experience the world.

They correspond to the five senses:

• Seeing (the visual system, visual),
• Hearing (auditory),
• Feeling (kinesthetic),
• Smelling (olfactory), and
• Tasting (gustatory) — abbreviated as VAKOG.

The sense of touch (tactile, haptic) is usually not treated as a separate sense but is assigned to feeling and bodily sensations.

Lead System

The lead system (also called the guiding system) is the representational system a person uses internally to access information. The lead system sometimes differs from the representational system that a person uses to consciously make information accessible (this may be their preferred representational system).

An Example: Memory Processes

When someone is asked about a past experience, they may first activate a visual image and then recall an inner dialogue that took place at that time. (This sequence is called a memory strategy in NLP.) The visual system serves as the lead system here, while the auditory one is the preferred system. The visual image is required to access the memory, while further “thinking” occurs in the auditory system. A lead system that differs from the preferred one is usually unconscious — the process of accessing information happens below the level of awareness. You can recognize another person’s lead system by observing their posture, gestures, breathing, and eye movements.

Reference System

The reference system internally checks the accuracy of an experience and the truth of retrieved information. For example, when a person is asked about a past event, their memory strategy may unfold like this: