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Transactional Analysis

Know Yourself
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I. The Basics

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• Developed by psychiatrist Eric Berne in the late 1950s
• It is a form of modern psychology that examines a person's relationships and interactions.
• Berne took inspiration from Sigmund Freud's theories of personality, combining them with his own
observations of human interaction in order to develop transactional analysis.
• Definition: Transactional analysis is part of a comprehensive system of individual and social
psychiatry. It offers an indigenous aproach to group therapy by making maximum therapeutic use
of the transactions which continually take place between those present. These transactions are
analyzed into exteropsychic, neopsychic and archaeopsychic components, called colloquially
Parent, Adult and Child, respectively (Eric Berne, 1959)

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• A phenomenological approach supplementing Freud's philosophical construct with
observable data.
• Freudian psychotherapists focused on patient's personalities.TA shifted the attention
from internal psychological dynamics to the dynamics contained in people's interactions.
• Analysis of “Psyche” vs Analysis of “Transactions”
• Rather than believing that increasing awareness of the contents of unconsciously held
ideas was the therapeutic path, TA concentrated on the content of people's
interactions with each other. Changing these interactions was TA's path to solving
emotional problems.

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II. Structural Analysis

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• Revising Freud's concept of the human psyche as composed of the id, ego, and super-
ego, Berne postulated three "ego states"—the Parent, Adult, and Child states.
• Parent, Adult, and Child are not concepts, like Superego, Ego and Id, but
phenomenological and social realities. Each is a complete ego state, including elements of
Superego, Ego and Id in its own structure. (Berne, 1959)
• An ego state may be described phenomenologically as a coherent system of feelings, and
operationally as a set of coherent behaviour patterns; or pragmatically, as a system of
feelings which motivates a related set of behaviour patterns. (Berne, 1959)
• There are three types of ego stages, each derived from a psychic organ (Berne, 1959)
1. Exteropsychic: Part of the ego that deals with the external percepetion of the world i.e. parent
2. Neopsychic: Part of the ego that deals with interpretation and processing of information i.e. adult
3. Archaeopsychic: Part of the ego that deals with subconscious memories i.e. child

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The Basic Structure of Human Personality
Parent:
Taught
Concept of
1. Parent: When a person thinks, feels & behaves in ways Life

copied from his/her parents


“Do as I do” Adult:
Thought
2. Child: Thinking, feeling, behaving as one did as a child Ego States Concept of
“What shall I do?” Life

3. Adult: Thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are a direct


result of current happenings Child: Felt
Adult-“I will be frank with you” Concept of
life

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The Basic Structure of Human Personality
• Parent consists of recordings of external events observed and experienced by a child from birth through
approximately the first five years of life. These recordings are not filtered or analyzed by the child; they are
simply accepted without question. Many of these external events are likely to involve the individual’s parents
or other adults in parent-link roles.
e.g. Do not play with matches, Remember to say “please” and “thank you, “Do not speak to strangers.
• Child represents all brain recordings of internal events (feelings or emotions) that are directly linked to the
external events observed by the child during the first five years of life.
e.g. I feel happy when Mom hugs me, Dad’s late night movie was very scary, I feel sad when Mom is sad.

• Adult, the final ego state, is the period in which a child develops the capacity to perceive and understand
situations that are different from what is observed (Parent) or felt (Child). The Adult serves as a data
processing center that utilizes information from all three ego states in order to arrive at a decision. One
important role of the Adult is to validate data which is stored in the Parent:
e.g. I see that Suzie’s house was burnt down. Mom was right—I should not play with matches.

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Levels of Ego States
A. Levels of Parental Ego
There are two types of parent we can play:
1. The Nurturing Parent– This Parent type is caring and concerned and may often appear
as a mother-figure (though men can play it too). They seek to keep the child contented,
offering a safe haven and unconditional love to calm the Child's troubles.
2. The Controlling (or Critical) Parent – This Parent type tries to make the Child do as
the Parent wants them to do, perhaps transferring values or beliefs or helping the Child
to understand and live in society. They may also have negative intent, using the Child as
a scapegoat.

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Levels of Ego States

B. The Adult Ego


• The Adult ego state is the 'grown up' rational person who talks reasonably and assertively, neither
trying to control nor reacting aggressively towards others.
• The Adult is comfortable with him/herself and is, for many of us, our 'ideal self'.
• The Adult ego state deals with the here and now reality. It is the processing centre and important
because it is the only ego state that is not connected to the past.
• The Adult is able to see people as they are, rather than what we project onto them. The Adult asks
for information, rather than staying scared or making assumptions.
• In the structural model, the Adult ego state circle is placed in the middle of the Parent and Child
ego states to show how it needs to orchestrate between these two.

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Levels of Ego States
C. Levels of Child Ego
There are three types of Child we can play:
1. The Natural Child – This child type is largely un-self-aware and is characterized by the non-
speech noises they make (yippee, whoo-hoo etc.). They like playing and are open and
vulnerable.

2. The Little Professor – This child type is the curious and exploring Child who is always trying out
new stuff (often much to their Controlling Parent's annoyance). Together with the Natural Child
they make up the Free Child.

3. The Adaptive Child – This child type reacts to the world around them, either changing
themselves to fit in and so being very good, or rebelling against the forces they feel and so being
naughty.

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Ego States: Diagram

Parent Child

1. Nurturing Natural
1
Parent Adult Child Free
2. Controlling The Little Child
Parent 2
Professor
Adaptive
3
Child

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III. Transactional Analysis

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STROKES
• We communicate with other people by giving strokes.
• Strokes are the units of interpersonal recognition, to survive and thrive
• A stroke is the basic unit of communication.
• A stroke can be
a. positive
b. negative
c. conditional
d. unconditional
• Strokes are fundamental units of social action.

Detailed notes on strokes are available from slides 21 onwards


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Transactions (Communications)
• Transactions refer to the communication exchanges between people. Put in TA terms, a
transaction is an exchange of strokes.
• At any one time, an individual will be transacting from one of his or her ego states - Parent (values),
Adult (rationality) and Child (emotions & creativity).
• Communication works well, or is successful, when the activated ego states are complementary or
sympathetic to each other.
e.g. "Have you seen my keys?" (Adult) the answer would be "Yes, they are on the table."
(Adult).
• Communication is unsuccessful when the roles oppose each other and a “game” begins.
e.g. "Have you seen my keys?" (Adult), the other person answers "Oh no, not again! You
always lose everything, you're just like a child!" (Critical Parent).
• Many of our problems come from transactions which are unsuccessful.

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Types of Transactions

1. Complementary transactions 2. Crossed Transactions 3. Ulterior Transactions

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1. Complementary Transactions
• A complementary transaction (reciprocal transaction) is one in which person A says something from one ego
state that invites a response from person B from a complementary ego state.
Examples:
a. Parent to Child
Person A: “I think you need to go and wash your dirty face”
Person B: “OK.”
b. Adult to Adult
Person A: “It’s lovely weather for this time of year.”
Person B: “Yes, isn’t it nice to see the sun.”
c. Child to Parent
Person A: “Ow! I’ve cut myself”
Person B: “Oh dear, come here and let me clean it up for you”.
There are other combinations such as Child to Child and Parent to Parent etc.

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2. Crossed Transactions
• In a crossed transaction the response to the stimulus is from an ego state other than the one that has been
invited. Communication failures are typically caused by a 'crossed transaction'.
• Examples:
A: “Can you tell me what time it is?” (Adult)
B: “Why are you always rushing me?” (Adapted Child)

A: 'Have you written that report?' (Adult to Adult)


B: “Will you stop hassling me? I'll do it eventually!” (Child to Parent)
This is a crossed transaction likely to produce problems in the workplace. 'A' may respond with
Parent-to-Child transaction; for instance:
A: “If you don't change your attitude, you'll get fired.

A: “Is your room tidy yet?” (Parent to Child)


B: “I'm just going to do it, actually.” (Adult to Adult)
This is a more positive crossed transaction.
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3. Ulterior Transactions
• Berne says that we can communicate on two levels. There is the social message – what we say, and
th#e psychological message – what we mean.
• In the case of an ulterior transaction the explicit social conversation occurs in parallel with an implicit
psychological transaction.
• Example:
A: “I need you to stay late at the office with me.” (Adult words), body language indicates sexual
intent (flirtatious Child)
B: “Of course.” (Adult response to Adult statement), winking or grinning (Child accepts the
hidden motive).
• Sometimes the social and psychological message do not match. Sarcasm is a great example of this.
When someone is sarcastic, what they say is the opposite of what they mean. The person who they are
being sarcastic to picks up the psychological message rather than the social message. When this
happens the transaction is said to be ulterior.

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Strokes (Detailed)
• Eric Berne defined a stroke as the “fundamental unit of social action”. A stroke is a unit of recognition,
when one person recognizes another person.
• A stroke can be physical, verbal or non-verbal and so could be a hand shake, a compliment or a nod of the
head. It could also be a “Hello”, “Go away!” or a dismissive wave of the hand. All of these acknowledge that
the other person exists.
• It based on the work of Rene Spitz who observed that infants deprived of cuddling, touching and handling
(in other words, not receiving any physical strokes) were more likely to experience emotional and physical
difficulties.
• Berne took Spitz’s observations of infants and developed theories about the needs of adults for strokes.
• Adults do need physical contact just like infants, but have learned to substitute other types of recognition
for physical stimulation.
• Berne defined this requirement of adults to receive strokes by the term “recognition-hunger” or “stroke-
hunger”.
• We are all desperately seeking strokes from others and that a lot of what we do is in order to be stroked.

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Types of Strokes

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Stroke Filters
• A stroke filter is a mental filter that operates unconsciously all of the time.
• This filter only allows some strokes to reach the person, while distorting or completely blocking
others.
• They only let in strokes which they think they are allowed to let in.
• Examples:
 If we have always been told we are the clever one and our brother is the creative one, then we
are likely to accept strokes for being clever, but not for being creative.
 A comment such as, “I see you have a new coat” can also be changed to either a positive or a
negative stroke depending on the receiver’s filter. For example, when a person says to him or
herself, “He likes my coat”, it is a positive stroke. When the person says to him or herself, “He
doesn’t like my coat”, it becomes a negative stroke.
• What is significant about stroke filters is that each person maintains his or her own internal life
position by using this filter.

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Games
• Games are certain socially dysfunctional behavioural patterns.
• Games are “sets of ulterior transactions, repetitive in nature, with a well-defined psychological payoff.”
• These repetitive, devious transactions are principally intended to obtain strokes, but instead they
reinforce negative feelings and self-concepts, and mask the direct expression of thoughts and
emotions.
• In his book Games People Play, Berne describes a series of games and gave them recognizable names
as:
a. "Why Don't You, Yes But"
b. "Now I've Got You, You SOB"
c. "I'm Only Trying To Help You".
d. Why is this always happening to me etc.
• Games involve us saying one thing and doing another in an attempt to achieve intimacy, but resulting in
a reinforcement of a negative belief we have about ourselves. Berne wrote a formula for how this
happens and he called it formula G: C + G = R > S > X > P
• Con + Gimmick = Response > (then can pull) Switch > (which causes) X Crossup > (then both can claim
their) Payoff 24
Games
Example
• Bob and Mary are a couple. Bob likes to play “Yes, But” and Mary’s favourite game is “I’m
Only Trying To Help You”.
• Bob’s opening con is complaining that he hates his job (C). This hooks Mary’s need to
make everything right for people (G) and she begins to suggest things that Bob could do to
solve the problem (R). After a good while and several attempts with Bob turning down
every suggestion Mary comes up with, Bob throws the switch (S) and tells Mary she is not
helping at all. Mary feels confused (X) and claims her payoff (P) which for her is the
familiar feeling that she is inadequate. Bob claims his payoff too, the familiar feeling of
disappointment that no one can help him with his problems. Thus the game is complete
and although both want intimacy, neither has achieved it.

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IV. Script Analysis

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Life Positions and Scripts
Life Positions

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1. The I’m OK—You’re OK position is known as the healthy position and is generally game-free. It is the belief that people
have basic value, worth, and dignity as human beings. That people are OK is a statement of their essence, not necessarily
their behaviour. This position is characterized by an attitude of trust and openness, a willingness to give and take, and an
acceptance of others as they are. People are close to themselves and to others. There are no losers, only winners.
2. The I’m OK—You’re not OK is the position of people who project their problems onto others and blame them, put them
down, and criticize them. The games that reinforce this position involve a self-styled superior or one-up (the “I’m OK”) who
projects anger, disgust, and scorn onto a designated inferior, or scapegoat (the “You’re not OK”). This position is that of
the person who needs an underdog to maintain his or her sense of “OKness.”
3. The I’m not OK—You’re OK is known as the depressive or one-down position and is characterized by feeling powerless in
comparison with others. Typically such people serve others’ needs instead of their own and generally feel victimized.
Games supporting this position include “Kick me” and “Martyr”—games that support the power of others and deny one’s
own.
4. The I’m not OK—You’re not OK is known as the position of hopelessness, futility and frustration. Operating from this place,
people have lost interest in life and may see life as totally without promise. This self-destructive stance is characteristic of
people who are unable to cope in the real world, and it may lead to extreme withdrawal, a return to infantile behaviour, or
violent behaviour resulting in injury or death of themselves or others.

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Life Script
• Related to the concept of basic psychological life positions is the life script (sometimes
called childhood scripts).
• The life script is the pre-conscious life plan that governs the way our life is lived out.
• This script is developed early in life as a result of the messages we receive from parents
and others and the early decisions we make. It can be seen as a well-defined course of
action that we decide on as a child and which is maintained by subsequent events.
• Script messages are seen as coming from:
a. Modelling: Visible ways adults and peers behave.
b. Attributions: Being told 'you're just like...'
c. Suggestions: Hints and encouragement such as 'Always do your best'.
d. Injunctions and counter-injunctions: Demands to not do or do things.

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Examples for Life Scripts
• The decision made by lots of boys early on in life that it’s not safe to cry and show
emotions. This is reinforced by parental figures and other caregivers. As a result many
men find it difficult to connect with their emotions as adults.
• A child, brought up in poverty, who sees celebrities on television and hears her
grandmother telling her that she can be like that, and how there are people on the TV
screen who started with nothing, just like her. She consequently creates fantasies and
plays games of being a celebrity. Other children join in, but with her it runs much deeper.
She works hard and always volunteers, even after forgetting much of her conversations
with her grandmother. She ends up working in television, not as a celebrity but behind the
scenes. Whilst she feels good being close to the stars, there is a strange sadness about
her when she returns to her small apartment at night. She still works hard and the deep
(now largely unconscious) belief that celebrity success will find her drives her on.

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Script Analysis
• Our script is developed from our early decisions based upon our life experiences.
• This happens at an unconscious, or at best pre-conscious, level and we may not even
realise that we have set ourselves a plan.
• Script analysis demonstrates the process by which people acquired their script and the
strategies they employ to justify their actions based on it.
• The aim is to help clients open up possibilities for making changes in their early
programming.
• One of the techniques that therapists use to reveal scripts is to ask clients to recall their
favourite stories as children. Clients are then asked who their favourite character is in the
story and who they identify with. They are asked to consider the beginning, middle and end
of the story. And to determine how they fit into the stories or fables and how the story is
reflected in their current life.

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Script Analysis
• Another way of getting to a relevant script is to ask clients to think about what they believe
will happen when they are in old age. Do they believe they will be alive at 80 or 90 years
old, be healthy, happy, and contented? What do they think will be on their headstone or
grave? What would they like to have on it?
• As a result of exploring their life script, clients learn about the injunctions they uncritically
accepted as children, the decisions they made in response to these messages, and the
games and rackets they now employ to keep these early decisions alive.
• By being part of the process of self-discovery, clients increase the opportunities for
coming to a deeper understanding of their own unfinished psychological business and, in
addition, they gain the capacity to take some initial steps to break out of their self-
defeating patterns.

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THANK YOU

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