Eric Berne define Transactional Analysis as "a theory of personality and social

action, and a clinical method of psychotherapy, based on the analysis of all

possible transactions between two or more people, on the basis of specifically
defined ego states into a finite number of established types." (Eric Berne, 1975,
"What Do You Say After You Say Hello", London, Corgi.)

Berne proposed that anything that happens between two or more people could
be broken down into a series of single transactions from a specific ego states. A
'transaction' consisting of a singular stimulus and a single response, verbal or
nonverbal from one person to another. It is called a 'transaction' because each
party gains something by it and that is why s/he engages in it.

Transactional Analysis is, as its names states, an analysis of these transactions.

"Any system or approach" Berne asserted, "which is not based on the rigorous
analysis of single transactions into their component specific ego states is not
transactional analysis." (Eric Berne, 1975, "What Do You Say After You Say
Hello", London, Corgi.)

Transactional Analysis, therefore, can be use in any field where there is a need
for understanding individuals, relationships, communication and systems.

For example TA can be used as a system of psychotherapy. The ego states in

social interaction can be observed for the individual to understand the structure
of his/her personality, which can then be altered to make life changes for that
individual.

Equally TA can be used to observe the transactions between, say, teacher and
pupil, giving insight into where the relationship is lost and how better
communication can be achieved that facilitates the teaching.

Transactions

A transaction can be described as a transactional stimulus plus a transactional

response, this being the basic unit of social discourse.

(The use of the words 'stimulus' and 'response' is assuming something from the
models point of view. It could be argued that a transaction could be a stimulus +
stimulus:

'How are you?'

'How are you, did you get the job?'

Or response + response:

'I feel like rubbish today'

'I wish I had another day off'

T.A. defines three types of transaction.

A Complementary transaction in which the ego state addressed is the ego state
that responds. Using the ego state functional model, with arrows or 'vectors' to
show the direction of each transaction, the vectors will be parallel:

'What time is it?'

'Three o'clock.'

A Crossed transaction is one in which the transactional vectors are not parallel.
The ego-state being adressed is not the ego-states that responds.

'Could you pass the salt '?

'You should have realised you wanted the salt before you sat
down, get it yourself'

In an Ulterior transaction two messages are conveyed at the same time. One of
these is an overt or social-level message, the other a covert or psychological-
level message.
 'Where are my socks?' (You are not a good enough wife.)
'In the drawer' (You are always telling me off)

The Four 'Life Positions' Explain How they Relate to Games and
Scripts, Giving Examples.

A life position is a person's basic belief about him/herself and others, which is
used to justify decisions and behaviour.

Berne (1972; 84) suggested that there are four life positions:

1. I'm OK – you're OK
2. I'm not OK – you're OK
3. I'm OK – you're not OK
4. I'm not OK – you're not OK

Each stance expresses the individual's view of his/her own worthiness and value
and that that s/he assigns to another in relation to him/herself. Each alternative
results in a different way that the individual feels and perceives and that creates
the 'normal' response to various life situations.

Once adopted it is therefore likely that s/he will construct the rest of his/her
script and games to fit in with it.

Berne wrote 'Every game script and destiny is based on one of these four
basic positions.'

1. The person that decides 'I'm Ok and you're Ok' will most likely have
a winners script believing him/herself and other to be lovable and
pleasant to be around. Games, if played, are more likely to be positive,
such as 'Homely sage'.
2. The child who grows up to believe 'I'm not OK – you're OK' is likely
to have a banal or losing life script. S/he will construct a script, and
 games, around the theme of being victimised or losing out to other
people. Games such as 'Kick me'.
3. The individual who decides 'I'm OK – you're not OK' may
superficially look like a person with a winning script but the need always
to be one better, or one up on someone else will result in the putting
down of the other and so this wouldn't, in the long term, be a pleasant
person to be around as they tire of being put down and reject him/her.
Then the individual will switch from an apparent winner to a loser. A
likely game would be 'Courtroom' or 'NIGYSOB'.
4. Someone who believes 'I'm not OK and you're not OK' is most likely
to have a losing script. They are convinced that life has no hope and is
futile. S/he believes that s/he can do nothing because s/he is not OK but
nor can anyone help her/him because they are not OK too. His/her script
and games will be around rejection and may play 'Blemish'. Injunction,
Program, Counterinjunction and Early Decision defined.

Script Formation

As a child grows s/he receives a lot of verbal and non-verbal messages from
his/her caretaker/s, which impact on the script formation of that individual.

These messages can be group into different brackets:

• Injunctions: These are negative, restrictive script messages issued

from the Child ego state by the parent and stored in the Child ego state
by the child. Bob and Mary Goulding, through their therapeutic work
developed a list of twelve injunctions from twelve themes they saw
emerging again and again. These were:

1. Don't exist,
2. Don't be you
3. Don't be a child
4. Don't grow up
5. Don't make it
6. Don't (don't do anything)
7. Don't be important
8. Don't belong,
9. Don't be close
10. Don't be well/sane
11. Don't think
12. Don't feel

• Programs: A set of script messages issued from Adult by the

parent and kept in the Adult of the child.
• Counterinjunctions: Script messages issued from the Parent by
the parent and housed in the Parent by the child.
• Early Decisions: Conclusion regarding self, others and quality of
life, adopted during childhood as the best available means of surviving
and getting needs met within the constraints of the child's way of feeling
and reality testing.
Each of these types of messages can be illustrated on the Script Matrix (Claude
Steiner).

The script matrix is a diagram to show the transmission of script messages

viewed in terms of ego-states.

The Script Matrix

So the child becomes influenced by the different inputs of his/her caretakers in

the writing of his/her script. The counterinjunctions are mostly used in a positive
way and shape how we go about life. Social manners, 'Be good', 'work hard' are
typical examples.

Programs show the child how to do things, count to ten, hide your feelings.
Mostly they are constructive and positive.

Injunctions, which are negative, cannot make a child write his/her script in a
particular way. The child can still decided what to do with the injunctions s/he
receives. For example a 'Don't Exist' injunction may be taken on board as a
whole and the child (or later in adulthood) will commit suicide, or have an
'accident' that results in his/her death.

Alternatively the child might make a magical early decision to shift the impact of
this decision and kill someone else, or they may stop existing as a person by
going-crazy and so not having to actually die. The child may even recognize the
injunction as the injunction giver's problem and reject it completely.

Whilst the child is forming his/her script, deciding how to keep to

counterinjunctions and soften injunctions s/he may decide to cover the injunction
with a counterinjunctiuon. So the injunction to 'Don't Exist' might be tempered
with the counterinjunction to 'work hard' so part of the individual script is 'as long
as I worked hard it's alright for me to exist/stay alive.' So this individual will 'work
hard and play hard' even at the cost of his physical health because not to do so
would mean s/he would have to listen to the injunction not to exist. Likewise one
injunction can cover another. 'It's OK for me to exist as long as I don't succeed.'

So the counterinjunction, program, injunction/permissions all play a major part in

the individual's script formation but I think it is worth noting that if two children
had identical messages it would fall to their individual decisions as to what to do
with these messages that would decide that person's final script.