Parent-Adult-Child
From WikEd
Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of
History
Psychiatrist Eric Berne (1910-1970) [1] is the founder of transactional analysis. Trained as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst with Erik Erikson, he wrote a total of eight books, in addition to the many articles he had published (Barrow, Bradshaw, & Newton, 2001; Woollams & Brown, 1979). Theories of Transactional Analysis (called TA) started in 1949, and by 1959 he had a national following (Woollams & Brown, 1979; Newell & Jeffery, 2002). Since Berne, other theorists have expanded Transactional Analysis to create new theories. Robert and Mary Goulding created the ‘Redecision’ school, and Jacqui Schiff created the “Cathexis’ school using Passivity Theory (Newell & Jeffery, 2002).
Transactional Analysis
Because Transactional Analysis looks to understand causes, operates from an ethical and values-based position, and enable behavioral change, TA can be used in counseling, psychotherapy, education, and in organizations such as businesses (Barrow, Bradshaw, & Newton, 2001; Berne, 1961; Newell & Jeffery, 2002). Personality, communication and interpersonal behavior, and child development all contribute to TA (Newell & Jeffery, 2002). TA relies heavily on the three basic assumptions: humans are OK, everyone has the capacity to think, and people can decide their own destiny and these decisions can be changed (Newell & Jeffery, 2002). A person may exhibit bad behavior, but the person is still “OK.�? The ability and flexibility to change is an important concept when considering the Ego States.
Berne’s Ego States
Berne read the works of other theorists such as W. Penfield, H. Jasper, and L. Roberts, L.S. Kubie, E. Weiss, P. Federn, and A.L. Chandler and M.A. Hartman. In his theory of Transactional Analysis, Berne used the ideas from these theorists’ ideas about ego states to develop his idea that humans have three ego states: Parent, Adult, and Child. These ego states and the interactions between them form the Transactional Analysis Theory and Model. The first letter of these ego states (Parent, Adult, Child) is always capitalized to distinguish between the ego state and a person. “An ego state may be described phenomenologically as a coherent system of feelings related to a given subject, and operationally as a set of coherent heavier patters, or pragmatically, as a system of feelings which motivates a related set of behavior patterns�? (Berne, 1961). In other words, each state is a system of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to our interactions with others. “The term ‘ego state’ is intended merely to denote states of mind and their related patterns of behavior as they occur in nature�? (Berne, 1961). Berne suggests all communication takes place in one of our ego states. Ultimately our feelings determine which state is used. Communication is only effective if the ego state a person responds with is appropriate or else the speaker and listener will not understand each other.
Ego State – A consistent pattern of feeling and experience directly related to a corresponding consistent pattern of behavior (Berne, 1976).
Parent
An ego state borrowed from a parental figure. It may exert itself as an indirect influence, or be directly exhibited in parental behavior (Berne, 1976).
This behavioral structure stems from our observations of our own parents, teachers, relatives, and other older adults. Our brains store these memories and we later express them often as critical and nurturing-type behaviors. It is formed by external experiences as we age. Parent can be considered our "taught" concept of life.
Adult
An ego state oriented toward objective, autonomous data-processing and probability-estimating (Berne, 1976).
This is not related to our age, but to our ability to think and act for ourselves. It is through "adult" behaviors that we keep our "parent" and "child" behaviors under control. Adult can be considered our "thought" concept of life.
Child
An ego state which is an archaic relic from an early significant period of life. The adapted Child is influenced by Parental parameters. The expressive Child is more autonomous (Berne, 1976).
This emotional response contains all of our natural impulses and early childhood experiences and behaviors. This identity is used early on in relating to others. Child can be considered our "felt" concept of life.
Present Theory
Modern Transactional Analysis is a theory of personality, a model of communication, and a study of repetitive patterns of behavior. The original three ego states have been further subdivided to form a new seven element model. All of these further divided ego states could be used in communication both positively and negatively. (Newell & Jeffrey, 2002)
The Parent ego state includes the Controlling Parent and the Nurturing Parent. The Controlling Parent tries to control/discipline others. When this is used positively, it could be seen as creating Structure using terms such as ‘will’ and ‘expect,’ but when it is used negatively, it is seen as Criticism, using terms such as ‘have to’ or ‘must.’ On the other hand, the Nurturing Parent tries to look after others. This time, a person who uses this ego state positively will communicate in a Nurturing manner using terms or phrases such as ‘care’ and ‘do you want my help,’ however those that use it negatively will communicate in a “Marshmallowy�? manner, using terms and phrases such as ‘let me,’ ‘poor thing,’ and ‘let me help you.’
The Child ego state is split into the Adapted Child and the Free child. The Adapted Child adapts behavior to gain approval. When this is used positively, it could be seen as Cooperation, using terms such as ‘please’ and ‘thanks.’ When used negatively, it is viewed as Compliant/Rebellious, using terms such as ‘can’t,’ ‘won’t’, and ‘wish.’ On the other hand, the Free Child is spontaneous and natural. When the Free Child is communicating in a positive manner, the person uses terms such as ‘wow’ and ‘fun’ to communicate spontaneity. When the Free Child is used to communicate in a negative manner, terms such as ‘won’t,’ ‘me,’ ‘my,’ and ‘no’ are used.
The Adult ego state is not divided.
Summary of the subdivisions of the ego states:
Parent: Controlling (-Critical and +Structuring) and Nurturing (-Marshmallowy and +Nurturing)
Adult: No Split
Child: Adapted (-Compliant/Rebellious and + Cooperative) and Free (-Immature and +Spontaneous)
For thorough examples, see the chart on page 16 of Barrow, Bradshaw, & Newton (2001).
Application in classrooms and similar settings
Educators can use the basic ideas of TA in numerous ways. First, teachers can learn to become better communicators. This in turn will help decrease the number of behavior problems. Second, teachers can teach students to become more effective communicators.
Teachers can develop a common understanding of personality that would allow verbal and non-verbal interactions to be more easily understood by both parties. Students can learn to understand themselves better as well. This would enable students to build and maintain better relationships while successfully communicating.
Thinking about the three ego states and how they can be used by the teacher as methods of classroom management can be confusing. The books by Barrow, Bradshaw, & Newton (2001) and Newell & Jeffery (2002) explain the connection each spending an entire book doing so. These books also use graphics, images, and sample conversations to explain the connections. For a thorough understanding, please read these books.
The idea of ego states is used during communication between a teacher and a student. The goal of the communication is to have the ego states match. A teacher should read the student’s actions, attitude, and behavior and communicate in the ego state that best matches the student. However, as explained above, there are ways to communicate negatively in the ego state, and these should be avoided if possible. To introduce the connection between classroom management and the ego states, the following are all examples of things a teacher could say, as compared to the three ego states (Newell & Jeffery, 2002):
Parent Ego State: You have just started World War II, sonny. You can do lots more coloring during detention. That should wipe the smile off your face.
Adult Ego State: I am not happy with what you have done. I will see you at the end of the lesson about this. If you misbehave again you will leave the room.
Child Ego State: I spent hours doing these sheets. You have ruined them. It’s not fair. I’m not going to give you any more of my sheets. I feel like scribbling all over your magazine to see how it makes you feel.
Evidence of effectiveness
An entire journal is devoted to this topic, and is titled the “Transactional Analysis Journal.�? In 2002, there was an article published explaining the international study used to prove the effectiveness of TA. This study did not focus on TA in the classroom setting, but found that TA is indeed successful, especially when used for over six months and used by certified transactional analysts (Novey, 2002).
Critics and their rationale
When doing a search for books with a subject heading of Transactional Analysis, no books criticizing Transactional Analysis appeared on the list of almost 70 titles. Even using educational databases, no articles appeared. This could be due to the fact that TA is flexible (see the Alternative explanations section for details). There are, however, comparisons to Freud’s egos of Id, Ego, and Superego. Due to Berne’s heavy quoting and referencing of Freud, as well as having Freudian ideologies, it is more likely that Berne used Freud in which to base his theory, instead of creating a theory which contradicts with Freud.
This theory could fit into the Confronting-Contracting method of classroom management. Those theorists who disagree with the idea of adapting the teacher’s behavior according to the student would be able to criticize Transactional Analysis and its ego states.
Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
These resources did not address the differences that may occur when considering diverse populations. However, TA assumes that people can choose their behavior, but they can change it when necessary. This idea already allows for diversity within students. If all humans are able to behave as either Parent, Adult, or Child, then the race, ethnicity, or class does not cause any problems, according to this theory. In addition, Berne intended this theory to be applied in many different settings, including businesses and classrooms, and by many people, including therapists, counselors, and teachers.
Signed "life experiences," testimonies, and stories
References and other links of interest
Barrow, Giles, Bradshaw, Emmma, & Newton, Trudi. 2001). Improving Behaviour and Raising Self-Esteem in the Classroom: A Practical Guide to Using Transactional Analysis. London: David Fulton.
Berne, Eric. (1976). Beyond Games and Scripts. New York: Grove Press.
Berne, Eric. (1964). Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships. New York: Grove Press.
Berne, Eric. (1977). Intuition and Ego States: The Origins of Transactional Analysis. New York: Harper & Row.
Berne, Eric. (1966). Principles of Group Treatment. New York: Oxford University Press.
Berne, Eric. (1961). Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy: A Systematic Individual and Social Psychiatry. New York: Grove Press.
"Born to Win". educationinfoindia.com. www.educationinfoindia.com/b_personality1.htm
Chapman, Alan. "Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis - early TA history and theory". businessballs.com, 1995-2005. http://www.businessballs.com/transact.htm
Newell, Sandra & Jeffery, David. (2002). Behaviour Management in the Classroom: A Transactional Analysis Approach. London: David Fulton.
Novey, T.B. (2002). Measuring the effectiveness of transactional analysis: An international study. Journal of Transactional Analysis, 32 (1), 8-24.
Shepherd, Peter. "Parent-Adult-Child". Tools for Transformation. http://www.freezoneamerica.org/transform/transform2.4.html
Woollams, Stan & Brown, Michael. (1979). The Total Handbook of Transactional Analysis. New Jersey: Presntice-Hall.
Also see: Transactional Analysis
