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MODULE –V
INTERACTIVE BEHAVIOR
LECTURE-14

TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS (TA)
Eric Berne presented Transactional Analysis(TA) to the world as
a phenomenological approach(the philosophical study of the structures
of experience and consciousness) in the late 1950s
According to the International Transactional Analysis Association, transactional
analysis(TA) "is a theory of personality and a systematic psychotherapy for
personal growth and change.”
✓ TA shifted the attention from internal psychological dynamics to the dynamics
contained in people's interactions
✓ In TA, social interactions (or “transactions”) are analyzed to determine the ego
state of the communicator (whether parent-like, child-like, or adult-like) as a
basis for understanding behavior

Concepts in Transactional Analysis
(A)The Ego States
Transactional analysis is considered an outgrowth of the Freudian concepts of id,
ego, and superego. According to Freud, there are three sources within the human
personality that stimulate (id), monitor (ego), and controls (superego) behavior,
which were largely shaped by childhood experiences

• The parent ego-state is a result of messages people receive from
their parents and elder people, during their early childhood. The
parent ego-state of a person comprises the judgemental, rule-
making and moralising component of personality. It is expressed
by advice, do’s and don’ts
Parent Ego-state
• The adult ego-state is authentic and reality-based. It is rational,
fact-seeking and problem-solving. It is directed towards the
objective appraisal of reality
Adult Ego-state
• The child ego-state constitutes the emotional, creative,
spontaneous, and impulsive component of personality
Child Ego-state
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(B) Transactions
Berne investigated communications between individuals based on the current state
of each person. He called these interpersonal interactions as transactions and used
the label games to refer to certain patterns of transactions which popped up
repeatedly in everyday life in every human interaction
✓ A transaction is a basic unit of social interaction. It consists of an exchange of words
and behavior between two people
✓ TA identifies the ego-states that both the initiator and the respondent exhibit in the
transaction
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(a)Complimentary Transaction
When communication continues
along the parallel lines between
individuals. That is, the
transactions are complimentary
✓ In this form of transaction, the
communication is complete and
both operate from their adult ego
P
A
C C
A
P
X Y

(b)Crossed Transaction
P
A
C C
A
P
S O
The interaction cross or ceases
and inhibits creativity and free-
thinking
✓Crossed transactions may lead
to breakdowns in communication,
which may sometimes be followed
by conflict

(c) Ulterior Transaction
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Ulterior transactions are even more
complicated because there is an overt
message and a covert message that is
communicated simultaneously. The overt
transaction is what is audibly spoken, but
the covert transaction is the psychological
message that is actually being
communicated
✓ In essence, it is when people say one thing
but mean another. We all do it, and we can
all recall situations where this was done to
us
✓ The intentions are hidden and the person
does not admit
P
A
C C
A
P
X Y

(d) Gallows Transaction
Any smiling response to a person’s misfortune may serve as a gallows transaction. This
inappropriate smile or laugh is described as the gallows transaction
✓ This term was coined by Claude Steiner
✓ The smile serves to reinforce the destructive behavior
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Thank you!
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