The document defines and discusses the concept of "okayness" according to various transactional analysis theorists and scholars. It provides definitions of okayness from Stewart and Jones (1987), Steiner (1974), Novey (1993), and Harris and Harris (1985). It also discusses the concept of "planetary okayness" and how environmental issues relate to life positions. The document aims to explore different perspectives on what constitutes a person or situation being "okay."

1. Okayness

2. Prepared By
Manu Melwin Joy
Research Scholar
School of Management Studies
CUSAT, Kerala, India.
Phone – 9744551114
Mail – manu_melwinjoy@yahoo.com
Kindly restrict the use of slides for personal purpose.
Please seek permission to reproduce the same in public
forms and presentations.

3. Content
• Definition.
– Stewart and Jones (1987).
– Claude Steiner (1974).
– Novey (1993).
– Harris and Harris (1985).
• Planetary Okayness.

4. Okayness
• Stewart and Jones (1987)
seemed to define the degree
of OKness a person feels as the
"essential value" (that one
perceives in oneself and
others.
• This implies that it is more
than just behaviour.

5. Okayness
• Steiner (1974) gave a more
philosophical definition of
OKness.
• He said that Berne had a
conviction and "'faith in human
nature“ about the OKness of
people.
• As a result, we all are OK, even
those who commit the most
heinous deeds.
• Such individuals are not
responsible for their genes or
early backgrounds and thus are
OK, even though their behavior is
not.

6. Okayness
• For his part, Novey sees OKness
as meaning "I am an acceptable
human being, with the right to
live and meet my needs, and
you are an acceptable human
being with the right to live and
get your needs met.“
• For him, "rights" and
"acceptability" are used in
defining OKness.

7. Okayness
• Harris and Harris (1985) saw
OKness almost as a comparison
of following between a child and
his or her parents:
– Strength
– Power and
– Dependency

8. Planetary Okayness
• Another aspect of life positions is
taken up by Pearl Drego (2008).
• He talked about the
environmental crisis affecting the
earth as “scripty and suicidal”. It
is a position of the extreme
antisocial (I+ U-T-) or
hopelessness (I-U- T-).
• Issues such as climate change,
water shortages, marine pollution
etc. are all global problems – that
can overwhelm us with their
scale and complexity.

9. Planetary Okayness
• It is at the small group level that
we can create and maintain
healthy life positions including
other groups, nations and
importantly future generations.
• Then maybe we can step back
from the hopelessly suicidal and
antisocially homicidal positions.

10. Thank You

11. 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.