The document defines the concept of a "life script" according to Transactional Analysis theory. It states that a life script is an unconscious life plan developed in childhood, reinforced by parents, and culminating in a chosen payoff. It further explains that scripts are decisional, developed outside of awareness, and can cause people to redefine reality to justify their script.

1. Life script
Definition

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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3. Introduction
• You have written your
own life story.
• You began writing it at
birth.
• By the time you were
four years old, you had
decided on the essential
details of the plot.
• As seven, you had
completed your story in
all its main details.

4. Introduction
• From then until you
were about twelve years
of age, you polish it up
and added a few extras
here and there.
• In adolescence, you
revise your story
updating it with more
real life characters.

5. Introduction
• Like all stories, your life
story has a beginning, a
middle and an end.
• It has its heroes, heroines,
villains, stooges and walk
on characters.
• It has its main theme and
sub plots.
• It may be comic or tragic,
enthralling or boring,
inspiring or inglorious.

6. Activity
• Suppose of now, that you
have indeed written the
story which is your own
life.
– What is the title of the
story?
– What kind of story is it?
(Happy/Sad/Tragic/comic)
– In a few sentence,
describe the closing scene
of your story.

7. Life script
• The theory of script was
developed by Eric Berne
and his Co-workers,
notably Claude Steiner,
in the mid 1960’s.
• The concept of script has
grown in importance as a
part of TA theory, until
now it ranks with the ego
state model as a central
idea of TA.

8. Definition
“Life script is an
unconscious life plan.”
Eric Berne
Principles of Group Treatment

9. Definition
“A life plan made in childhood,
reinforced by parents, justified by
subsequent events, and culminating
in a chosen alternative.”
Eric Berne
What do you say after you say hello

10. Details of definition
• Script is a life plan.
• Script is directed
towards a payoff.
• Script is decisional.
• Script is reinforced by
parents.
• Script is outside
awareness.
• Reality is redefined to
justify the script.

11. Script is a life plan
• The notion that people’s
grown up life patterns are
affected by childhood
experience is central to
TA.
• Script theory suggests that
child lays down a specific
plan for her life, rather
than simply a general view
of the world.
• This life plan is laid out in
the form of a drama, with
a clear cut beginning,
middle and end.

12. Script is directed towards a payoff
• When the young child
writes his life drama, he
writes the closing scene
(Payoff) as an integral part
of it.
• All the other parts of the
plot, from the opening
scene onwards, are then
planned to lead up to this
final scene.
• We are unawarely
choosing behavior which
will bring us closer to our
script payoff.

13. Script is decisional
• Child decides upon the
life plan.
• Even different children
brought up in same
environment may decide
upon quite different life
plans.
• The child’s script
decisions are not made
in the deliberate
thinking way which we
associate with adult
decision making.

14. Script is reinforced by parents
• From child’s earliest days,
parents are giving her
messages, on the basis of
which she forms
conclusion about herself,
others and world.
• These script messages are
verbal and non verbal.
• They form the framework
in response to which the
child’s main script
decisions are made.

15. Script is outside awareness
• In grownup life, the
nearest we come to a
memory of our earliest
years is in dreams and
fantasies.
• Unless we take time to
work with and discover
our script, we are likely
to remain unaware of
the early decision we
made, even though we
may be living them out
in our behavior.

16. Reality is redefined to justify the script
• We interpret reality in
our own frame of
reference to justify our
script decisions.
• We do this because, in
our child ego state, we
may perceive any threat
to our script based view
of the world as a threat
to the satisfaction of our
needs or even a threat
to our survival.

17. Thank You

18. 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.