Transactional Analysis
Akshay Kumar
Intro. to Psychology
• We play games of communications with
each other
• Why do we play them
• How we are developed
• How are personalities learn
It is a theory of personality and a systematic
Psychotherapy for personal growth and personal
change
• Provides a theory of communication
• Offers a theory of child development
• Is a powerful tool in management and
communication training and organizational
analysis.
•
•
•
•
•
•
How we developed
How we groomed
Why do we play a role of a savior for some
A hero for some
Dependent on some
Aggressive with some
Introduction
• 1961 Eric Berne, Games People Play
• Transactional Analysis is the method for studying
interactions between individuals
• Dr. Thomas Harris stated in I’m OK – You’re OK,
that in Transactional Analysis, “we have found a
new language of psychology.”
T.A. Includes
•
•
•
•
Theory of Personality
Theory of communication
Theory of Child Development
Used as a form of Diagnosis of
Psychopathology
• Used as Psychotherapy
Transaction
Transaction: Basic unit of social interaction
Interactional currency
Transactions
• Transactional response
• Transactional Stimulus
Transactions
• Verbal
• Expressions
Acc. To Albert, 1970.
7% communicational matter lies in words
55% in facial expressions
38% Paralinguistic (Way the words are said)
Neo Freudian School of
Psychology
• Psychoanalysis: Problems: Intra-psychic
• T.A. : Problems: Inter-Psychic. i.e.
Interactions and relationships.
Ego States
• Parent
• Adult
• Child
Parent
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Taught component
Voice of authority
Exteriosite
How your parents treated you
Everything you love from the society
The Do’s and Don’t’s
The rules
Too Judgmental
Too Critical
Too Nurturing
Parent
• Taken from our parents and significant
adults (Care takers): Introjecting
Nurturing
(Positive)
Structuri
ng
(Positive)
Nurturing Spoiling
(Negative)
Structuring
Critical
(Negative)
Child Ego State
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Archeosite
Child like behavior
Instincts
Dreams
Desires
Childlike Behavior
The basic sad, mad, bad, glad feelings
Child Ego State
Adapted
Cooperative
(Positive)
Free
Spontaneous
(Positive)
Adapted
Resistant
(Negative)
Free
Immature
(Negative)
Adult
• Neosite
• Tries to make decisions in objective manner
• In ambiguous situations: Tries to predict
decisions.
• We ask for information rather than stay
scared and rather than make assumptions.
• Taking the best from the past and using it
appropriately in the present
• integration of the positive aspects of both
our Parent and Child ego states.
Example
• Internal Parent ego state may beat up on the
internal Child, saying "You are no good,
look at what you did wrong again, you are
useless".
• The Child may then respond with "I am no
good, look how useless I am, I never get
anything right".
• The adult can intervene
Three EGO States and the
concept of Life:
• Parent is our 'Taught' concept of life
• Adult is our 'Thought' concept of life
• Child is our 'Felt' concept of life
Ego states
• Aim of the parent ego state is to mature into
an adult ego state.
• Ego states are not constant: We play
different ego states with different people at
different times
Diagnosis
• Behavioral diagnosis:
- Posture
- Breathing
- Speaking style
Eg. Parent: Rigid Posture, summons etc
Adult: Not rigid posture but erect and straight
Parent
• Physical - angry or impatient bodylanguage and expressions, finger-pointing,
patronizing gestures
• Verbal - always, never, for once and for all,
judgmental words, critical words,
patronizing language.
Child
• Physical - emotionally sad expressions, despair,
temper tantrums, whining voice, rolling eyes,
shrugging shoulders, teasing, delight, laughter,
speaking behind hand, raising hand to speak,
squirming and giggling.
• Verbal - baby talk, I wish, I dunno, I want, I'm
gonna, I don't care, oh no, not again, things never
go right for me,
Adult
• Physical - attentive, interested, straightforward, tilted head, non-threatening and
non-threatened.
• Verbal - why, what, how, who, where and
when, how much, in what way, comparative
expressions, reasoned statements
• Social Diagnosis: How people Interact in a
group
• Historical Diagnosis: History of relationship
in past
• Contextual diagnosis:
- Type of context
- Type of transaction
Structural diagram
• A structural diagram represents the
complete personality of any individual.
• Transactional Analysts construct a diagram
showing the ego states involved in a
particular transaction.
Types of Transactions
• Parallel Transaction/ Complimentary
• Cross Transaction
Parallel/Complimentary
Cross
Limitations
• Stereotyping
• Does not take into account cultural
differences during interactions