Eric Berne developed Transactional Analysis (TA) which focuses on ego states (Parent, Adult, Child) and how they interact through transactions. Key aspects of TA include:
- Ego states are sets of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can be activated depending on the situation.
- Transactions are how people interact and communicate through their different ego states. Complementary transactions promote open communication while crossed transactions inhibit it.
- Life scripts are unconscious life plans developed in response to early parental influences that program behaviors and decisions throughout life.
- Permissions and injunctions from parents establish what behaviors and feelings children are allowed or not allowed to have, influencing their life scripts. Understanding transactions and scripts can