Is Transactional Analysis Past Its Sell by Date?

Lightweight Fad or Significant Development Framework?

Paul Dixon, University of Manchester

TA

Aim: to suggest to you that it is not,

Explore with you possible applications of TA in learning and development

Take part in using some TA tools and ideas

Equip you to use at least one TA associated technique in your development work

Be sufficiently enthused to find out more……

and…..

The ‘Building Blocks’ of TA

Psychological Needs/Hungers Recognition

Structure

Stimulus TRANSACTIONS

STROKESTIME STRUCTURING

Ego states

STRUCTURAL MODEL, ANALYSIS

BEHAVIORAL, (FUNCTIONAL) MODEL, TA ‘PROPER’

Behaviour and Being

AUTONOMY SCRIPT BOUND

GAMESDRIVERSDISCOUNTSCONTAMINATIONS

EXCLUSIONS

DECOMMISION CHILD

INTIMACY

POSITIVE STROKES

PERMISSIONS

STRONG ADULT

Three Types of Applications

Individual, Personal

Inter-personal

Group or Team

Diagnostic, Personal

Development,Coaching

Understanding relationships, interpersonal skills, conflict

Group dynamics, analysis, team development

Stroke Profile

EgogramCorralogram

Inter-relational Egogram

Relationship Analysis

Time-Structuring

Strokes – (Social) Units of recognition

Any stroke is better than no

stroke – basis of repeated

undesirable behaviour

patterns

A solicited stroke is as valuable as an unsolicited stroke

Strokes are as necessary to human life as are other primary biological needs such as food, water and shelter, needs which if not satisfied will lead to death

Observations about strokes

Individuals have their own capacity and preferences for balance of negative and positive strokes - stroke quotient

Our strike quotient is the result of early experience and parental training

The Stroke Economy - SteinerStroking quotient formed in early experience through child decisions/reactions relating to five injunctions/restrictive rules about stroking

Don’t give strokes if you have them to give

Don’t ask for strokes when you need them

Don’t accept strokes if you want them

Don’t reject strokes when you don’t want them

Don’t give your self strokes

The Stroke Profile – Jim McKennaIndividual patterns for dealing with strokes e.g.

+

-GIVE TAKE ASK FOR REFUSE TO GIVE GIVE SELF0

0

10

10

Example 2

+

-GIVE TAKE ASK FOR REFUSE TO GIVE GIVE SELF0

0

10

10

Leadership Management Style?

Approach to others?

Motivation and drives?

Me

You

Ego States – Functional, Behavioural Model

Autonomous set of feelings, attitudes and behaviour patterns in the here and now adapted to the current reality + and -

Set of feelings, attitudes and behaviour resembling and copied from a parent or parental figure + and -

Set of feelings, attitudes and behaviours which are relics of individual childhood + and -

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

The Egogram – a self assessment and visual representation of the relative intensity and frequency with which an individual typically expends psychic energy (cathexis) in each ego state

Suggested that total psychic energy available remains constant – therefore investing more in one ego state leaves less to be invested elsewhere

Used in therapy (coaching/management development sessions to review current position, set targets for personal growth

CP NP A AC FC

Leadership Style? Relations with Colleagues?

Change orientation? Motivation and Drives?

CP NP A AC FC

Leadership Style? Relations with Colleagues?

Change orientation? Motivation and Drives?

CP

NP

A

AC

FC

CP

NP

A

AC

FC

FRED (Manager) DORIS (Staff)

How’s the relationship?

CP

NP

A

AC

FC

CP

NP

A

AC

FC

FRED (Manager) DORIS (Staff)

How’s the relationship?

Relationship Analysis - Theoretical Ideal

Relationship Analysis – Disjuncts

Time Structuring – Structure Hunger

Withdrawal

Rituals

Pastimes

Activities

Games

IntimacyInt

ensit

y of s

troke

s inc

reas

es

Psyc

holog

ical r

isk in

creas

es

Time StructuringThink of a group with which you work, project group or some such – draw a pie chart of how much time collectively in different forms of time structuring e.g.

Time Structuring

WithdrawalRitualsPastimesActivitiesGamesIntimacy

Time Structuring

Think of your own behaviour in a particular group – what proportion of your time do you spend in each of the different forms of time structuring?

So TA………Content of DevelopmentCommunications training

L and M Development

Interpersonal skills

Assertiveness

Self Development etc

Types of InterventionsCoaching/Mentoring

Conflict resolution/mediation

Group/team development

…not just customer service training!