http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-18812072
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0040259
http://skepdic.com/neurolin.html

"There is an episode of Spongebob (one of those few cartoons accessible to both young children and adults) where Patrick, upset that his friend Spongebob has won so many awards and he has won none, decides to copy everything Spongebob does. Patrick is a lazy, dumb, pathetic, (but charming) do-nothing, and he is no less so by simply mimicking Spongebob’s every move – hence the comic irony my four-year-old can appreciate. Neurolinguistic programming (NLP), at its core, takes the Patrick approach to success and counseling."