Causas de la evasión tributaria

One of the most surprising aspects of approach is his use of questions to focus attention, to suggest indirectly, and to reinforce all at the same time. Questions seem so innocent in everyday life. When other people question us, it is frequently from their own need, and the question implies that we know something and are quite fine to be helping them. Questions asking for help, directions, advice, and so on are all of this category and are most useful for focusing attention.

Another useful category of questions concerns abilities: Can we do such and such? This ability question frequently has strongly motivating properties from many years of effort in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood to meet a developmental challenge successfully: "I'll try, and I bet I can!" These ability questions are therefore useful in

motivating patients provided they are not overwhelming in their demand. We must take care because questions can also be piercing and destructive, as when they are experienced as the merciless stings of an examination situation or inquisition.

Recent research (Sternberg, 1975; Shevrin, 1975) indicates that when questioned, the human brain continues an exhaustive search throughout its entire memory system on an unconscious level even after it has found an answer that is satisfactory on a conscious level.

The mind apparently scans 30 items per second even when the person is unaware that the search is continuing to take place. The results of such searches on an unconscious level are evident from many familiar experiences of everyday life. How often do we forget a name or an item only to have it pop up all by itself only a few moments later, after our conscious mind has gone onto something else? How often are we consciously satisfied with a solution only to have fresh doubts and perhaps a better answer come up autonomously a short while later?

The fact that such unconscious search and cognition are carried out in response to questions even after the conscious mind is apparently satisfied and otherwise occupied is a verification of Erickson's early research supporting the then controversial view that the mind could be simultaneously active on two entirely separate and independent tasks— one on a conscious level and another on an unconscious level (Erickson, 1938; 1941). This activation of unconscious resources is the very essence of the indirect approach, wherein we seek to activate and utilize a patient's unrecognized potentials to evoke hypnotic phenomena and therapeutic responses.

As usual demonstrates and indirect approach even in his use of questions, which typically structure the patient's internal associations by implication. Questions are frequently implied directives. They are often used to depotentiate conscious sets so the patient will be more open to new response possibilities. Let us analyze a few examples of Erickson's questions. It will be found that it is almost impossible to neatly classify these questions because even the simplest are very complex in their implications and effects.

Which hand is lighter?

Focuses attention on hands. Indirectly suggests one will be lighter and may levitate. Reinforces lightness and possible levitation as an adequate response. It is an implied directive insofar as it requires a hypnotic response to be answered adequately. Illusory choice and double bind are also operative because one is being bound into making a hypnotic response whichever hand feels lightest. This question indirectly depotentiates consciousness because it is no unusual that the "normal" and habitual frameworks of ego consciousness cannot cope with it, so the patient must wait for an unconscious or autonomous response.

Why did John just leave?

This question in the context of this session where Mrs. L was hallucinating John serves primarily as an indirect suggestion to cease hallucinating. It works by implication and refocuses attention.

Do you want Dr. Rossi to look at you?

In the context of this session where Mrs. L is hallucinating herself as naked from the waist up, this question strongly ratifies the hallucinatory experience with an implied directive that she show some response to being naked in front of a relative stranger (she covered her breasts with her arms).

Do you enjoy (pause)

not knowing where you are?

This is an indirect, compound suggestion that gains its potency from many sources. It is compound because it asks two questions at the same time: Do you enjoy? You do not know where you are? It is so difficult to answer such a double question that the patient would frequently rather just go along with it and "enjoy not knowing where he is." The use of the negative "not knowing" is a further source of confusion that is frequently too difficult to figure out, so the patient goes along. "Do you enjoy" indirectly suggests pleasure and is thus reinforcing.

It is evident from these analyses that we are only beginning to make a beginning in our understanding of language in general and questions in particular. The hypnotherapist would

do well to make as thorough as possible a study of that branch of semiotics known as pragmatics, the relation between signs and the users of signs (Morris, 1938; Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson, 1967; Watzlawick Weakland, and Fisch, 1974).