TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS

EGO STATES
PARENT

Each of us has within us 3 ego states

ADULT

CHILD

Nurturing Parent

NP

CP

Critical Parent

ADULT
Natural Child Little Professor Adapted Child

NC
LP

AC

EGO STATES
Parent ego state:
Collection of attitudes, thoughts, behaviours, and feelings which a person has taken in from outside sources who served as parent figures. LIFE AS TAUGHT

PARENT EGO STATE There are two major types

Nurturing Parent: is caring, concerned, forgiving, reassuring, permissive, warmly protective, worried Critical Parent: is opinionated, powerful, strongly protective, principled, punitive, demanding

Spotting the parent

From non-verbal behavior
Gestures: Frown, stern look, pointing finger, arms folded across the chest; reaching for, hugging, holding Tone of voice: critical; comforting, reassuring Postures: puffed up, back straight, shoulder pulled back; open arms protecting from a fall or hurt

From verbal behavior

Use of judgmental words: You should, You ought to, That is right, That is wrong

Behavior Drivers
Parents indicated to us how we should behave in order to be OK with them. We retain these messages and replay them.
Be Perfect Try Hard Please Me Hurry Up Be Strong

EGO STATES
Adult ego state:
Processor which functions like a computer as it organizes information, estimates probabilities, and makes logical statements LIFE AS THOUGHT

ADULT EGO STATE

Adult state is rational and linear in its functioning It gathers, stores, and uses information from many sources Its recordings are essentially factual The adult uses the information to make assessments to estimate probabilities The adult is often called the computer

EGO STATES
Child ego state:
Consists of feelings, and behaviours which are typical of children and spontaneous adults LIFE AS FELT

CHILD EGO STATE

Is derived from needs and feelings. It contains memories of our past experiences. There are three forms - Natural Child (NC), Adapted Child (AC), and Little Professor (LP) The NC expresses itself spontaneously without concern for the reactions of the parents The AC, behaves, as if a parent were watching or listening and is restrained

CHILD EGO STATE

LP plays the primary role in our process of making decisions about how we can best get along in the world LP thinks intuitively, using subjective rather than logical ways of understanding.

Spotting the Child

From non-verbal behavior
Gestures: laughter, arms moving freely; wringing hands, hanging head Tone of voice: affectionate, impulsive; self-centered, rebellious, whining Expression: excitement, surprise, wideeyed looks; downcast eyes, quivering lips or chin, pouting Posture: jumping up and down, head cocked; slouching, burdened

Strokes
When one person recognizes the existence of another to that person, it is called a stroke Recognition is a basic human need and strokes are very important Strokes can be pleasurable or painful Strokes can be unconditional or conditional Conditional strokes might be
Performance oriented Strokes for following rules Conformity and compromise oriented strokes

TRANSACTIONS
A transaction is a unit of social interaction between two persons These transactions can be analyzed according to the ego states involved Transactions could be simple or complex Simple transactions are of two kindscomplementary and crossed In simple transactions, the ego state that is addressed is the one that responds and the response is to the initiating ego state

COMPLEMENTARY TRANSACTIONS
Boss:
P P 1 A 2 C C

When is the meeting

Subordinate:
Tomorrow at 1:30

COMPLEMENTARY TRANSACTIONS
P P

Boss: Subordinate:
You dont deserve a raise I know, I just cant do anything right

A
2 C

1 A

CROSSED TRANSACTIONS
Colleague A:
P P

1 2

You left without permission Colleague B: What is it to you?

CROSSED TRANSACTIONS
Person A:
P 1 P

A
2 C

Laziness breeds mediocrity you know Person B: Who are you to say?

COMPLEX TRANSACTIONS
P 1 P

A
1 C 2

A transaction becomes complex when there is duplicity in meaning in one or both transactions Salesperson: This piece is very expensive

I am challenging you to buy it Customer

I think this is the piece I want to buy

COMPLEX TRANSACTIONS
Boss
P 1 1 A 2 C 2 C P

How come you are so early today? 1. You are late again

Subordinate

Sometimes you also come early 2. I know of times when you are late too

Life Positions
I-U+
Im not OK with me, You are OK with me Get away from Depressed

U+
Im OK with me, Youre OK with me Get on with Healthy

I+U+

IIm not OK with me, Youre not OK with me Get nowhere with Im OK with me, Youre not OK with me Get rid of

I+

Futility

Paranoid
U-

I-U-

I+U_