This document provides an overview of Transactional Analysis (TA), a psychoanalytic theory developed by Eric Berne. TA believes that during interactions, individuals operate from one of three ego states: the parent, adult, or child. The parent ego reflects rules and past behavior. The child ego relates to emotions from childhood experiences. The adult ego uses logic and reasoning to make independent judgments. These ego states influence a person's responses in different situations. Understanding TA can provide benefits like improved communication and self-awareness to resolve problems in relationships. While it requires self-reflection, TA offers a versatile framework that can be applied to understand many types of interactions.

1. T A HARRIS
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS

2. T . A HARRIS

3. BACKGROUND
• When people transact and exchange ideas and information,
they are either comfortable or uncomfortable communicating
with each other. Developed by Eric Berne, Transactional
Analysis (TA) is a psychoanalytic theory and method of theory.
It is a technique which helps to understand the behaviour of
other person so that communication becomes effective.
Understanding human behaviour helps to motivate, guide and
direct other persons.
• TA believes that there are three different states or ways of
being during interactions, which are: the child ego stage, the
parent ego state and the state of adult (Berne, 1957).’
According to TA Harris transactional analysis an individual’s
behaviour is guided by the parent, adult and child ego:

4. THE PARENT EGO STAGE
It is the state that enables people to respond automatically in many
situations so that many routine matters can be dealt with without
unnecessary expenditure of energy (Berne, 1964). Parent behaviour is
acquired through external environment. As young children, their
parents’ behaviour remains embedded in their minds which is reflected
as parental ego when they grow up. It usually reflects protection,
displeasure, reference to rules and working based on the past
precedents.

5. •THE CHILD EGO STAGE
• According to Harris, 1973 the child ego state refers to response
which makes the point that the child has no vocabulary in the
early years so these experiences are recorded as feelings and
these feelings can be evolved at any time in their adult life and
often their individual concerned is on a way of this response.
Child behaviour reflects a person’s response to communicate in
the form of joy, sorrow, frustration or curiosity. These are the
natural feelings that people learn as children. Its reflets
immediate action and immediate satisfaction. It reflects
childhood experience of a person gained generally up to the
age of five years.

6. THE ADULT EGO STAGE
Adult behaviour reflects the ability to analyses the situation
and take logical decisions. He overcomes the feelings and
takes decisions based on facts and figures. This state is
based upon reasoning, thinking, experience, rationality and
discussion based on facts. This state is characterized by
objective logical thinking and an ability to make independent
judgment and decision in any situation. It updates the
parental ego to determine what is right and wrong and child
ego to determine what feelings to express and what not to
express.

7. TRANSCATIONAL ANALYSIS

8. These ego states are present in all human beings at some time or
the other. People respond to different situations in different ways
depending on their ego state. The central concern for the adult
eagle state is the development of individual or to know me and the
ability to make informed and realistic decisions on one’s own.

9. ADVANTAGES OF TA
• The first benefit of TA is that it was created by Berne with the
intention of being simple, with easy-to-understand concepts, this
allows the layperson to understand the theory and become familiar
with its mechanisms and the social interactions within it to make life
take how they do.
• It helps improve communication skills and relationships with others
while reducing conflict, and these benefits are supported by current
research.
• It can be applied to many types of problems and many types of
relationships for example work relationship or interactions between
colleagues and supervisors, teachers, student interaction in schools,
romantic relationships/marriage, families, relationships with parents
and child relationship. Difficult clients at work in all industries etc. so
it is very versatile theory.

10. CONTINUATION OF
ADVANTAGES
TA helps people to be able to gain deeper insight into their own behaviours, reactions,
thoughts, and emotions which they might not have been aware of before, providing
them with greater self-awareness.
A further power of TA is the fact that it allows a variety of opportunities for both
preventative and remedial work by providing for both an educational and healing
structure. It really is vital that the information divulged in the therapy sessions are
well balanced by experimental work which involves the client both emotionally and
cognitively Greenberg, Korman & Paivio (2002) advised that interventions in remedy
will be successful and produce sustained changes if they involve the emotional domain
alternatively than focusing strictly on the cognitive realm.

11. A downside of TA is that it calls for a person to have a very good
diploma of self-recognition and ability to have a take to observe
and note their own behaviour, feelings and notion patterns, a few
customers or human beings might not have this ability.

12. CONCLUSION
•TA can increase self-awareness. It promotes
personal reflection. It helps people find more
effective ways to communicate. It can help
eliminate unhelpful thoughts, feelings and
actions. It can be applied to many types of
problems.

13. References
Anon., . What Is Transactional Analysis?. [Online]
Available at: http://www.itaaworld.org/what-transactional-analysis
[Accessed 28 3 2022].
Napper, R., 2009. Positive Psychology and Transactional Analysis. Transactional Analysis
Journal, , 39(1), pp. 61-74.
Solomon Ph.D., C., . Description of Transactional Analysis and Games by Dr. Eric Berne
MD. [Online]
Available at: http://www.ericberne.com/transactional-analysis/
[Accessed 28 3 2022].
Solomon, C., 2003. Transactional Analysis Theory: The Basics:. Transactional Analysis
Journal, , 33(1), pp. 15-22.