TRANSACTIONAL
ANALYSIS
By
Navdeep Dhillon
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS
The focus will be on use of TA as a
Communication Tool
How TA can be useful when people have to
deal with people?
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS
Do you remember
yourself pointing fingers
at a friend when
something goes wrong?
Does this remind you of
your father or any
parental figure?
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS
Do you remember yourself
taking care of your friend, in
the hostel when he fell sick?
Does this remind you of your
mother or any other parental
figure?
You behaved like a PARENT
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS
Do you remember throwing
a tantrum when things go
wrong the way you did in
your childhood?
Do you remember yourself
laughing and giggling just
like that?
You behaved like a CHILD
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS
Do you remember when things
go wrong, you collect facts,
think and take things through?
Without blaming others or
without panicking, You acted
very rationally.
You behaved like an ADULT
What is Transactional Analysis?
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS is a theory by
Dr. ERIC BERNE explaining why and how:
People think like they do
People act like they do
People interact/communicate with others
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS
The method of examining this one transaction
wherein “I do something and you do something
back” is called Transactional Analysis
Major areas of TA
Ego states
Transactions
Strokes and games
Life positions
Ego States
Berne believed that when we interact with other people,
our state of mind affects what happens
He believed that there were three states of mind in all
humans, no matter how old they were, called ego states.
ADULT
PARENT
CHILD
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS
Each ego state has particular verbal and non-
verbal characteristics, which can be observed, if
you are watching people.
Each ego state has a positive and negative
aspect
PARENT EGO STATE
Contains the attitudes & behaviour
incorporated from external sources, primarily
parents. P
When you are acting, thinking, feeling as you
C
observed your parents, teachers, older
people, uncles & aunts to be doing you are in
your Parent Ego State.
A
Outwardly expressed as critical & nurturing
behaviour.
The Parent
The Critical Parent Nurturing Parent
Gives us directions and Protects and
controls and limits encourages, provides
our behavior care and love
“’bad, should, ought, “well-done, good, gentle,
must, always, caring, don't worry”
unacceptable
Recognizing the Parent
State
A person in CP state may:
Use a patronizing, critical or
disapproving tone of voice
Use aggressive gestures
Come across as judgmental,
authoritarian
Be intimidating or controlling
Recognizing the Parent
State
A person in a NP stated is likely
Use a loving, caring, comforting or
concerned tone of voice
Use open, encouraging gestures,
smiling, leaning forward, nodding of
head
Have a caring, understanding attitude
CHILD EGO STATE
Contains all the impulses that come
naturally to an infant. A
Our ‘internal’ reaction and feelings to
external events.
Joy and laughter comes from child C
ego.
When you feel and act as you did
when you were a child, you are in A
your Child ego state.
The Child State
Free child Adapted child
Impulsive and Submissive and
carefree behaviors, conforming behaviors,
Communicating through Looking for approval
feeling and reassurance
Recognizing the Child
State
A person in a free child state
Uses words as wow, great,
ouch, want
Talk loudly, energetically,
free of constraint
Use spontaneous gestures
and expressions
Be curious, fun-loving,
changeable
Recognizing the Child
State
A person in adapted child
may
Use words such as can’t,
try, hope, please,
perhaps, wish
Come across as innocent,
helpless, sad, scared
Act in a defiant, ashamed
or compliant way
ADULT EGO STATE
It is related to current reality and object
gathering of information.
P
Organized, adaptable, intelligent, functions by
reality, estimating probabilities.
Problem solving comes from this ego state.
C
When you are dealing with current reality,
gathering facts and computing objectively, you A
are in your Adult Ego State
.
Recognizing the Adult
State
A person in an Adult ego
state is likely to
Speak in an even voice
Have an erect posture and use
open gestures
Be alert and thoughtful about a
problem they are facing
Clarify the situation by careful
questioning
Hypothesize and process
information
Use words like correct, how,
what, why, practical, quality
TAUGHT concept of life.
TOUGHT concept of life.
FELT concept of life.
PAC Responses
To a crash of rock music
PARENT
P:That horrible stuff kids listen to
today.
A:I can’t talk and think when the ADULT
music is so loud.
C:That makes me want to dance.
CHILD
To being offered a piece of P
chocolate cake during dieting
P:Go ahead it will give you energy. A
A:That piece of cake must have 400 calories. I
think I’ll skip it
C
C:What yummy Cake! I could eat the whole
thing.
People generally exhibit all three Ego
states.
All three Ego states are necessary to
healthy personality
People can change the frequency of
one ego state by concentrating or
developing another
TRANSACTIONAL
ANALYSIS
(Cont.)
By
Navdeep Dhillon
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology
EGO STATES
TAUGHT concept of life.
TOUGHT concept of life.
FELT concept of life.
10% meaning is in WORDS
30% meaning is in VOCAL CUES
60% meaning is in VISUAL CUES
How people say something (what
others hear?) is equally important as-
What is being said.
TRANSACTIONS
•When we are communicating with others (verbally or nonverbally) we
are carrying out a transaction with them.
•We are both sending messages and receiving them.
•Many of our problems come from transactions which are unsuccessful.
Types of Transaction
Complementary transactions
Crossed transactions
Ulterior transactions
1.COMPLEMENTARY TRANSACTIONS
A complementary P P
transaction occurs
when a message sent A A
from a specific ego
state, gets the C C
predicted response
from a specific ego of A: "Have you completed the
the respondent. report?"
B: "Yes - I'm about to email it
to you.“
(This exchange was Adult to Adult)
2.CROSSED TRANSACTIONS
P P
A crossed transaction
A A
occurs when an
unexpected response is
C C
made to the stimulus. An
inappropriate ego state is
activated, and the lines of A: "Have you completed the
report?"
transacting between the (Stimuli is directed at the
people are crossed. Respondent’s Adult)
B: “You are always in a
hurry”
(Response is from Parent ego
state)
3.ULTERIOR TRANSACTIONS
Ulterior transactions
always involve more
than one ego states.
WHEN AN ULTERIOR
MESSAGE IS SENT, IT
IS DISGUISED UNDER
a socially acceptable
transaction.
A: "Have you completed the
report?”
“You never finish your work on
time.”
TA can help you
Respond to a person and situation more
appropriately.
Build rapport.
Understand someone else’s needs.
Deal more effectively with difficult
people.
Be assertive.
Understand how and why you behave
the way you do.
