Transactional analysis
• One of the most promising breakthroughs in psychiatry.
• An approach to understand human behavior and action.
• In the 1950's Eric Berne began to develop his theories of
Transactional Analysis.
• He said that verbal communication, particularly face to
face, is at the centre of human social relationships and
psychoanalysis.
• TA is a model for explaining why and how:
– People think like they do
– People act like they do
– People interact/communicate with others
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What is Transactional analysis
It is a technique to understand dynamics of self and its relationship to
others that help in clearly understanding interpersonal behaviour.
“ When two people interact there is a social transaction in which one
person responds to other . The study of such transactions between people
is called “Transactional analysis”.
It involves the analysis of --•Awareness
•Structural Analysis (ego States)
•Analysis Of Transactions
•Life positions
•Script Analysis
•Game Analysis
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Key elements of a transaction
• Transaction Stimulus: When two people encounter each
other, one of them will speak to the other.
• Transaction Response: The reaction from the other
person.
• Agent :The person sending the Stimulus.
• Respondent: The person who responds.
Transactional Analysis became the method of examining
the transaction wherein: 'I do something to you, and you
do something back'.
• Berne also said that each person is made up of three
alter ego states: Parent, Child and Adult.
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Structural Analysis (ego States)
• Another aspect of self is ego states of the person , an important
aspect of Transactional analysis.
•
Ego states are a person’s way of thinking, feeling & behaving at any
time.
•
Our Brain (according to Berne) determines what we think and how
we act. It acts like a tape recorder while recording events,
associated feelings etc. It has 3 distinct parts or ego states: Parent,
Adult and Child
Parent is our 'Taught' concept of life
Adult is our 'Thought' concept of life
Child is our 'Felt' concept of life
•Parent- “Do as I do”
•Adult- “I will be frank with you”
•Child- “What shall I do?”
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TA Ego States or
Personality Aspects
Parent
Adult
Child
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Parent ego state
1) Parent ego state is the result of messages (conditioning)
people receive from parents, elder sisters and brother,
teachers and others during their child hood.
1) Characteristics of a person acting with parent ego
include overprotective, distant and indispensable. It is
expressed by advice, do’s and don'ts.
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Parent… learned to act and feel
much as those that raised us.
Parent
Critical Parent…
Nurturing Parent…
follows rules, accepts
slogans, holds opinions
without thinking first of
facts.
Supportive and protective
toward others, offers help
and guidance.
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Clues to Someone in Their Parent ego state
… a frown or stern look.
… tone of voice.
… pointing of the index finger.
… arms folded as to say “what are you doing?”
… uses phrases like; “you should,” “you ought to,” “that is
right!”
… words such as; sympathizing, punishing. moralizing,
judging, giving orders, criticizing.
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Adult ego state
1. These people gather information ,carefully analyze it ,
generate alternatives and make logical choices.
2. Thoughts, feelings, attitudes, behavioral patterns based
on objective analysis of information (data, facts).
3. Make decisions based on
probabilities, etc. (not emotion).
logic,
computations,
4. Authentic ,direct, reality based, rational fact seeking and
problem solving .
5. Assume human
Responsible.
beings
as
Equal
,Worthy
And
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Adult
Adult… looks at the facts and
reasons out the answer - the
computer inside us.
… figures things out logically.
… takes responsibility for thoughts, feeling
and actions.
… solves problems and makes decisions.
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Clues to Someone in Their Adult ego state
… straight forward facial expression.
… active listener, eyes blink every 3 to 5 seconds showing
attention.
… speaks of probabilities.
… uses phrases like; “In my opinion,” “Based on what I
have observed,” “So far the facts seem to indicate.”
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Child ego state
1. Thoughts, feelings, attitudes, behavioral patterns based
on child-like emotions, impulses, feelings we have
experienced.
2. Include creative, emotional, spontaneous, impulsive,
immature and kiddish behavior.
3. Reflects early child hood conditions and experiences
perceived by individual in early years of his life up to 5
years .
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Child
Free Child…
Open to life,
spontaneous,
filled with the
sense
of
wonder
and
delight,
self
centered.
•Child… what we were when
we were young. There are
three forms of Child ego :
Adapted
Child…
Polite,
sociable,
recognizes
the
rights
of
others,adapts
behavior to suit
them, can resent
the
rights/demands of
others,
complies
grudgingly,
feels
unsure
about
themselves,
procrastinates .
Rebellious
Child…
Experiences anger,
fear and frustration,
aggressive,
rebellious, does not
consider the
consequences of
feeling or actions.
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Clues to Someone in Their Child ego state
… smiling, laughing, having fun.
… tone of voice.
… crying, having tantrums, getting into trouble.
… childlike facial expressions.
… uses words/phrases like; “Wow!,” “Gosh!,” “I wish,” “I feel.”
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Ego Portraits
• People have favorite, preferred ego state, depicted
by larger circle in a diagram.
Parent
Adult
Child
P
P
A
P
A
A
C
C
C
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3. Analysis of Transactions
•
A transaction = any interaction or communication between 2 people.
• A transaction occurs when a stimulus from a person is being
responded by another person.
• People send and receive messages out of and into their different ego
states
• How people say something (what others hear?) just as important as
what is said.
• A transaction is routed from ego states & depending on the ego
states, there are three types of transactions –
• Complementary,
• Crossed and
• Ulterior
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Complementary ‘Transactions’
• Interactions, responses, actions regarded as appropriate and
expected from another person.
• When the stimulus from response patterns from one ego state
to another are parallel.
• Parallel communication arrows, communication continues.
Example 1:
P
P
A
A
C
C
#1
#2
What is the time?
It is 11:15.
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Complementary ‘Transactions’
cont’d
Example 2:
P
P
A
A
C
C
#1
You’re late again!
#2
I’m sorry. It won’t
happen again.
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Crossed ‘Transactions’
•
•
•
•
Interactions, responses, actions NOT regarded as appropriate or expected
from another person.
This happens when the person who initiates transaction expecting a certain
response does not get it.
It occurs when stimulus-response lines are not parallel.
Crossed communication arrows, communication breakdown.
Example 1
#1
What time do you have?
#2
There’s a clock on the wall, why don’t you
figure it out yourself?
P
P
A
A
C
C
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Crossed ‘Transactions’ cont’d
Example 2
You’re late again!
Yeah, I know, I had a flat
#1
#2
tire.
P
P
A
A
C
C
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Ulterior ‘Transactions’
• It is most complex because communication has double meaning.
• When an ulterior message is sent, it is often disguised in a socially
acceptable way.
• On the surface level, it has a clear adult message, whereas it carries
a hidden message on the psychological level.
• Interactions, responses, actions which are different from those
explicitly stated.
P
P
A
A
C
C
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LIFE POSITIONS
• Life positions are the basic assumptions that people make
about their own self worth as well as about the worth of other
people they transact with.
• These are basic beliefs about self and others, which are used
to justify decisions and behavior.
• These life positions are perceptions of the world.
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LIFE POSITIONS
I am not OK
You are OK
I am OK
You are OK
One down position
Helpless
Healthy position
Happy
I am not OK
You are not OK
I am OK
You are not OK
Hopeless position
Hopeless
One up position
Angry
I am OK
I am not OK
You are OK
You are not OK
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1)I am OK –YOU ARE OK
•Rationally chosen life position
•Made after individual has a number of OK experiences with others
•Problem solving and accept significance of others .
•Based on ADULT EGO.
•They delegate authority and feel comfortable with spread of
authority.
2)I am OK –YOU ARE not OK
•This position is taken by those people who feel victimized. They
blame others for their misery.
•Aggrieved person with attitude that what ever they do is right.
•Results from position when a person is too much ignored when he
was a child.
•People with rebellion child ego.
•Manager may give critical and oppressive remark. lack trust in
others
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3) I am not OK –YOU ARE OK
•People feel powerless in comparison to others .
•Managers operating from this position tend to give and receive bad
feelings.
•They often use bad feelings as an excuse to act against others and
when whole thing comes full circle even feel guilty for their acts.
•Unpredictable in their behavior.
4) I am not OK –YOU ARE not OK
•Loose interest in living.
•Seriously neglected by parents and brought up by servants.
•They don’t make decision in time.
•Look to others for final decision and delegate inappropriately.
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HOW TO IMPROVE???
 For effective communication you need to keep the transaction
complementary .
 We can improve communication by trying to shift the other
person’s ego state by inviting people to move into a different
ego state, and
 If we cannot do this it is better to stop the communication
and try again another time when the person may be in a
different ego state.
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Adult





Asking a question
Stating a few facts
Asking for their opinion
Asking for their preference
Asking for their view
Nurturing Parent
 Asking for their help.
 Asking for their advice.
 Asking for their expert
opinion.
 Communicating your
fears/worries.
Natural Child
 Being one yourself
 Showing the funny side of the
situation
 Going to nurturing parent
 Being enthusiastic
 Showing an unconventional way
of looking at things.
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Implications of TA
• Transactional Analysis is a way of understanding and
changing human behavior
• Helps in understanding why communication fails and how it
can be corrected.
• Helps in understanding and improving one to one
relationships.
• To understand and resolve interpersonal conflict.
• TA helps in understanding the dysfunctional strategies that
many people use to protect themselves from emotional risks
of intimacy.
• TA is a tool for improving interpersonal skills in specific
situations.
• TA helps in making a balance between cognitive and affective
behavior.
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