Neuro-Linguistic Programming? Is it the same or similar?
Funny, the PRC hires people exactly like this to influence the internet, thousands of them.
The short answer is I do not know how similar they are.
I just looked it up and I read that Neuro-Linguistic Programming suggests "that all behaviour has structure" so I guess maybe it is related.
Sunstein, et al see that we masses can be manipulated but as I understand their version is based upon marketing techniques such as how merchandise is displayed in retail outlets, supermarkets for example.
My only exposure to Sunstein has been book reviews and a couple of radio interviews. See the several reviews of his book Nudge for choice architecture and how they can nudge us to make the right decisions -- we still get to decide but with them naming the choices thus "libertarian paternalism."