The document discusses Stephen Karpman's Drama Triangle concept, which identifies three roles in interpersonal games: persecutor, rescuer, and victim, each representing inauthentic responses to past experiences. It emphasizes that individuals often switch roles during interactions and suggests activities to recognize and reflect on these dynamics. Additionally, it provides links to further resources on related psychological topics.

2. Prepared By
Manu Melwin Joy
Research Scholar
School of Management Studies
CUSAT, Kerala, India.
Phone – 9744551114
Mail – manu_melwinjoy@yahoo.com
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Please seek permission to reproduce the same in public
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3. Drama Triangle
• Stephen Karpman
devised a simple yet
powerful diagram for
analyzing games, the
drama triangle.
• He suggested that
whenever people play
games, they are
stepping into one of
three script roles:
Persecutor, Rescuer or
Victim.

6. Persecutor
• He is someone who puts
other people down and
belittles them.
• The persecutor views
others as being one
down and not ok.

7. Persecutor

8. Rescuer
• He sees others as being
not OK and one down.
• But the rescuer responds
by offering help from a
one up position.

9. Rescuer

10. Victim
• He is himself one down
and not OK.
• Sometimes, the victim
will seek a persecutor to
put him down and push
him around.
• The victim may be in
search of a rescuer who
will offer help and
confirm the victim’s
belief “I can’t cope on my
own”.

11. Victim

12. Example

13. Drama Triangle
• Every one of the drama
triangle roles entails a
discount. Both persecutor
and rescuer discount others.
• The persecutor discounts
other’s value and dignity.
Extreme persecutor may
discount other people’s right
to life and physical health.
• The rescuer discounts others
abilities to think for
themselves and act on their
own initiative.
• A victim discounts himself.

15. Activity
• Take one minute to
write down all the
words you can think of
that might be applied
to a persecutor.
• Do the same for a
Rescuer and for a
victim.

16. Drama Roles
• All three drama
triangle roles are
inauthentic.
• When people are in
one of these roles, they
are responding to the
past rather than to the
here and now.
• They are using old
scripty strategies they
decided upon as
children or took on
board from their
parents.

17. Drama Triangle
• To signal the
inauthenticity of the
triangle roles, the
words Persecutor,
Rescuer and Victim are
spelled with initial
capitals.
• If we spell the words
beginning with small
letters, we mean real
life persecutors,
rescuers or victims.

18. Activity
• Can you think of a real life
persecutor who would not
also be a persecutor.
• What would be examples
of the difference between
an authentic rescuer and a
person playing the role of
Rescuer.
• Would you say it is
possible for anyone to be
a victim without also
being a Victim.

19. Switch
• Usually, someone who
is playing a game will
start at one of the
positions and then will
switch to another.
• This switch in Drama
Triangle positions
takes place at the
moment of the Switch
in the Game formula.

20. Activity
• What drama triangle
switched did you make
in your own personal
game example.

21. OK Triangle
• In every game, there are
at least 10 % OK reasons
in each P, R, V corner.
• Every idea spoken has at
least 10% truth in it.
• 10 % of population react
the same way.
• 10 % of what you are
saying is not true
anyway.

22. Rhoda’s Triangle

25. Thank You

26. Other TA topics available on slideshare
1. Strokes - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/strokes-24081607.
2. Games People Play - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/psychological-
games-people-play.
3. Structural Analysis - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/the-ego-state-model.
4. What is TA? - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/what-ta-is
5. Cycles of Development - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/cycles-of-
developement-pamela-levin-transactional-analysis.
6. Stages of Cure - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/stages-of-cure.
7. Transactions - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/transactions-33677298.
8. Time Structuring - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/time-structuring.
9. Life Position - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/life-position.
10. Autonomy - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/autonomy-33690557.
11. Structural Pathology - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/structural-pathology.
12. Game Analysis - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/game-analysis-33725636.
13. Integrated Adult - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/integrated-adult.
14. Stroke Economy - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/stroke-economy-
33826702.