TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS: HISTORY, THEORY, CONCEPTS, APPLICATIONS - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The transactional analysis is a tool and a theoretical approach based on the analysis used to study the state of the patient's ego. Its objective is to understand the behavior of the person by analyzing their relationships with others, in addition to modifying it in the event that it is not fully functional or emotional problems appear.

Transactional analysis was developed by Eric Berne in the 1950s, and is based on the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud. However, Berne tried to go beyond the postulates of his teacher, creating a theory that draws on the roots of this psychological current but that incorporated new ideas and concepts.

Eric Berne, creator of the theory of transactional analysis. Source: See page for author

One of the fundamental postulates of the transactional analysis theory is that the personality is often divided into several parts, each one of which may predominate more or less depending on the situation, the experiences of the person and their level of development.. Berne identified primarily three parts of the ego: the "child," the "adult," and the "parent," each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Thus, when a person acts from the ego of a child, he relies primarily on his emotions and often acts unconsciously. From the parent level, on the contrary, they tend to behave based on self-demands and put their own needs aside. Finally, as the adult, the individual is based on rationality and the conscious analysis of what happens.

Despite not being a highly scientifically supported theory, transactional analysis is still used today in some forms of therapy and as a method for personal development.

History

Dr. Eric Berne developed transactional analysis in the latter part of the 1950s, using the word "transaction" to describe the fundamental unity in human relationships.

Thus, this discipline sought to understand the relationships between individuals in a profound way. His influences were people like Erik Erikson, René Spitz, and of course, Sigmund Freud.

In fact, the theory of transactional analysis is largely based on Freud's model of personality. He thought that our psyche is divided into different facets, and that the interaction between all of them is what produces our emotions, actions and attitudes.

Specifically, Berne modified Freud's theory of the three components of the mind, which were the id (the emotional and unconscious part), the ego (the rational part) and the superego (the moral component); and he changed them to three labels that he considered more descriptive: the father, the adult and the child.

For Berne, the personality of each individual could be studied in terms of which of these three components was the most dominant. In addition, he developed a model that allowed studying this structure simply by observing the social interactions of a person. His most famous work, Games We Participate In, describes his model both theoretically and in practice.

Theory and concepts of transactional analysis

The fundamental idea behind transactional analysis is that verbal communication, mainly face-to-face, is at the center of both human relationships and psychoanalysis.

According to this author, when two people meet, one will communicate with the other. This is known in his theory as a "transaction stimulus." The interlocutor's reaction, on the other hand, is called a "transaction response."

The person sending the stimulus is known as the agent, and the interlocutor as the respondent. Thus, transactional analysis tries to understand the interaction between the two, based mainly on the ego state in which each of them is.

-Ego states

When a communication occurs between two people, each one of them starts from the base of one of their three ego states: parent, adult or child. The feelings present at that moment are what determine which ones are used, and at any moment we can go from one to another if we receive a certain stimulus. Even so, in general one of them predominates in each individual.

The analysis of the ego states of the interlocutors, the stimuli that provoke them and the responses that they provoke is the basis of Berne's theory. This author developed a model that tried to explain interpersonal conflicts, based on what he called "cross transactions."

A cross transaction occurs when the interlocutors do not start from complementary models. For example, if the two are at the level of the child or the adult, in general a problem in communication or a conflict of some kind will appear.

On the contrary, if the two start from complementary planes, communication will take place effectively and there will be no conflicts.

-What are the states of the ego?

Each of the ego states mentioned by Berne in his theory will be briefly described below.

Father

What Berne called "father" is our voice of authority, everything we have learned from our superiors since childhood. It is a kind of compilation of the messages that our authority figures were sending us, which guides us and tells us what to do, what is right and what is wrong.

The father can take two forms, depending on the person. One of them, the "nutritious", seeks the well-being of the individual and tries to maintain a positive emotional state. Usually, you send messages of unconditional love to the person.

On the other hand, the "critical" parent tries to ignore the person's emotions, in such a way that the person feels obliged to act in a certain way that they consider "good" or "moral" despite not really wanting to do so. In general, it causes negative feelings, such as guilt or feelings of not living up to it.

Boy

The "child" is the part of our ego that is responsible for feeling emotions. From this plane, the person reacts to external stimuli automatically and unconsciously, just as a real child would. It is the most innate part of the personality, and therefore the most difficult to change.

People in whom this component of the ego dominates often have trouble managing their emotions, are very demanding of others and often experience sudden and sudden mood swings.

Adult

The "adult" is the component of the ego that acts from a rational and analytical plane. It is based on the ability to think, analyze situations and determine the most appropriate courses of action for each moment. It is also the easiest component of the personality to change and the one used to keep the other two under control.

However, some experts believe that operating exclusively from the adult plane is impossible. This is because the adult would be analyzing data instead of taking action.

Therefore, the ideal situation is one in which the person is able to access each of these three planes of the ego depending on what he needs at each moment.

How does transactional analysis work?

Although it was born as a theoretical model, transactional analysis soon also began to be used to improve the lives of patients with certain types of therapy. Berne, based on his theory, developed a series of techniques that allow identifying from which of the three ego planes a person is acting, and modifying those that are not adaptive.

Thus, for example, we have already seen that the parent state can be presented in two different ways. While one of them is nourishing, and enhances the well-being of the person, the other causes all kinds of problems by trying to deny the emotional needs of the individual. In general, this second form also causes interpersonal conflicts by being excessively critical.

Something similar happens in the case of the child state. When it has developed in a healthy way, this emotional plane can help the person to act spontaneously, to connect with others and to connect with their positive feelings.

On the contrary, when starting from an underdeveloped base, it can make the individual excessively pessimistic, negative, complaining and unable to control their emotions.

Because of this, the goal of all interventions based on transactional analysis is to modify the parent and child states to fit within the healthy zone. In addition, it also tries to strengthen the adult plane, which is the most useful for most situations in daily life.

Applications

Transactional analysis can be used in many different contexts, but in general its best-known applications are therapy and the improvement of interpersonal relationships.

In the field of therapy, the psychologist helps the patient to analyze his three ego states and to achieve a balance between them. In general, this involves strengthening the adult state and modifying some of the unconscious patterns of the other two.

On the other hand, within the field of communication, transactional analysis can improve relationships by helping people to identify the planes from which their interlocutors start and by teaching them strategies to communicate with each one of them.

References

1. "Transactional analysis" in: Eric Berne. Retrieved on: June 19, 2019 from Eric Berne: ericberne.com.
2. "Transactional analysis" in: Good Therapy. Retrieved on: June 19, 2019 from Good Therapy: goodtherapy.com.
3. "Transactional analysis - Eric Berne" in: Business Balls. Retrieved on: June 19, 2019 from Business Balls: businessballs.com.
4. "What Is Transactional Analysis?" in: Business Jargons. Retrieved on: June 19, 2019 from Business Jargons: businessjargons.com.
5. "Transactional analysis" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: June 19, 2019 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.