TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS

TransactionalAnalysis is a theory Dr. Eric Berne developed  in the 1950's. It is both an approach for defining and analyzing communication interaction between people and a theory of personality. Transactional analysis outlines how we have developed and treat ourselves, how we are connected with and interact with others, and offers suggestions and interventions which enable us to change and grow.

Today Transactional Analysis is used in psychotherapy, business and non-business organizations, educational and religious institutions. The fundamental theory underlying transactional analysis holds that an individual’s personality consists of three ego states – the parent ego state, the child ego state, and the adult ego state.

Parent ego state

This is a set of feelings, thinking and behavior that we have copied from our parents and significant others.  We grow up we get ideas, beliefs, emotions and behaviors from our parents and caretakers. The parent state is made of one’s attitudes and behavior incorporated from external sources. It is an ego state of authority and superiority. A person acting in a parent state is usually dominant, scolding, and otherwise authoritative.

Adult ego state

The adult ego state is objective, rational and is about being spontaneous and aware with the capacity for nearness. . It deals with reality and gathers information objectively. The Adult ego state is about Parent and Child ego states. So this can be called the Integrating Adult. Integrating Adult means that we constantly update ourselves through our day to day experiences and using them to inform us.

Child ego state

The Child ego state is a group of behaviors, thoughts and feelings replayed from our own childhood. The child contains all the impulses that are natural to an infant. Acting in this state, the person can be obedient or manipulative; charming at one moment and repulsive the next. Of course, not everything in the Child ego state is negative. 

In transactional analysis theory, the parent and child ego states feel and react in a direct manner, while the adult state ponders or analyses transactional data logically before acting. In most situations, therefore, the ideal interaction is an adult stimulus, followed by an adult response. The process of analyzing personality in terms of ego states is called structural analysis.