TA for Learners - 00.01 TA Theory of Personality
TA for Learners
00.01 TA Theory of Personality
TA Theory of Personality
and about Ego States
The function of Freudian Ego is to deal with the conflicts between the Superego and the Id. Its function is also to effectively deal with a multitude of challenges we face in our life.
Transactional Analysis uses ego state as the fundamental unit of personality structure. Eric Berne says that when the ego is affected the mind is affected, and when the brain is affected the body is affected. It is mentioned earlier on that “ego state is the actually experienced reality of one’s mental and bodily ego with the contents of the lived through period”. Therefore the health of ego states affects both mind and body. The health of personality also affects both mind and body.
Eric Berne created a model of three stacked circles to represent human personality - see Figure 1 on page 13. Each of the circles represent a set of similar ego states. Each set is generated using elements fulfilling two criteria. They are source and epoch. The top circle represents ego states sourced from significant parental figures and their epoch is of later childhood and teenage years. The middle circle represents ego states sourced from one’s own life and their epoch is life stage to stage incorporated experiences based on objectively appraised view of reality. The bottom circle represents ego states surviving from one’s own childhood and their epoch is own childhood. These three sets of ego states are called extero-psychic, neo-psychic and archeo-psychic ego states respectively. They are called Parent, Adult and Child ego state for ease of understanding and referring - see figure 2 on page 13. Each set of ego states is a collective noun. Therefore they represent several incorporated ego states though used in singular. The referring terms representing ego states Parent, Adult and Child are first letter capitalised. They are in lower case when used in other contexts. Ego States represent persons with a social identity and a postal address.
The word psyche earlier meant soul, mind or spirit. Now it means memory caches. Psychic therefore means originating from memory caches. This will help to understand extero-psychic, neo-psychic and archeo-psychic ego states in terms of memory caches.
I have already mentioned that the word personality can be understood in two ways. One is “the different but individually characteristic manner of perceiving, evaluating, assessing resulting from underlying thinking, feeling generated by the neuro-psychic organisation.” The other is “personality is a name for embodied neuro-psychic structures, the activation of which result in manifesting patterns of thinking, feeling, behaviour in response to reality and reality situations.”
Reality and Reality Situations arise both within us and external to us. Activated ego states get organised to generate a structured response to reality and reality situations. The organised ego states represent personality at the moment prevailing. This is shown in figure 4 on page 13.
Transactional Analysis provides a theory of personality development. Personality Development can be explained in two ways. The first is the manner in which we have come to possess the personality we own. This personality is constituted of ego states that have been incorporated during the years since our birth. It generates a ‘reality situation specific’ perceptual, evaluatory, assessment and response frame. The second is the work we are doing on ourselves to prevent the occurrence of personality anomalies, the work we are doing on ourselves to incorporate new ego states by healing or replacing the old ego states, the work we are doing to generate the preponderance of neo-psychic (Adult) ego states with the participation of acquiescent Free Child and permissive Parent ego states. It is also the work we are doing by remaining consciously free of passivity, aggressiveness, being laid back, being compliant, or using unhealthy ego states that promote engagement in games and rackets.
There are as many as seven personality structures that likely get activated in response to internal and external stimuli - see figure 5 on page 13. Each of these personality structures may be one ego state or two ego state dominant, or incorporating three ego states equally dominant or pathologically structured. Thousands if not millions of possibilities exist.
Restoring Personality to health is not a tall call. Incorporating the desirable when we we are challenged by the undesirable is the answer. Thankfully our neural system supports neuro-genesis (generation of new synaptic nodes), neuro-synthesis (connecting nerves in new ways) and neuro-plasticity (getting to organise sets of activated memory systems). Neuro-genesis, neuro-synthesis and neuro-plasticity help to generate sane, safe, appropriate and effective responses. Part II of this book provides methods for activating the aforementioned process of neural generation and reorganisation in the brain.
Definition: Ego States are defined as patterns of thinking and feeling manifesting as related patterns of behaviour (relevant to the presenting reality or reality situation).
The three ego states are characterised by relevant thinking, feeling and manifesting behaviour. Each of them also represents an ‘ego state specific’ orientation and attitude. Each of them can be identified by self observation with great ease.
Parent Ego State: They represent copied, learnt and taught patterns of thinking, feeling and behaviour. These are incorporated by introjection. Introjection means taken in whole without evaluation or assessment. They are sourced from one’s parents and significant parent figures. They are taken in later childhood and teenage years. Parent ego states play a significant part in our perception, assessment and appraisal of reality. They are also the source of our cultural, religious, social and other beliefs, values, biases and assessments. Trans-generational transmission occurs through incorporated Parent across many generations.
Adult Ego State: An Adult free of pathology, updated with new incorporated assessments and experiences is an asset to any person. When the Adult functions with permissive Parent support and Free Child acquiescence it is called an integrated Adult. Integrated Adult is an empowered Adult. Adult reality testing helps to make coherent, well thought assessments of reality and helps to generate sane, safe responses. An activated Adult has feeling component alongside thinking. The feeling is neither absent nor emotionally charged.
Child Ego State: Child ego states are archaic relics from one’s own childhood. Archaic relics means they that they were useful at one time. However, they are not effective for generating age appropriate assessments and responses to persons and reality situations. Child dominant responses are marked by Child-like thinking, feeling, emotional (take-overs) and related behaviour.
Child ego states are the store house of psychic energy. They control the activation of other ego states.
Child ego states are the source of ‘out of the box thinking’, creativity and capacity for innovation. Childlike happiness and joy is the most valuable reward for every person who owns a healthy personality. This childlike happiness and joy in an adult person is contributed by the healthy Free Child component of personality.
Structural Models of Personality
The PAC model of personality is used to represent personality. The diagram is constructed using equally sized three stacked circles. (The circles are neither overlapping nor apart from each other. TA practitioners are at pains to ensure that they draw the diagram properly).
The PAC model represents the personality of an adult person. It is used in clinical work and sometimes in organisational and educational settings. The diagram is freely used to picture transactional exchanges between persons and also between groups and teams in organisations.
Three standard models are used in TA Theory of Personality. They are the First Order, the Second Order and the Third Order Structural Models of Personality. Structural Models represent constitutional organisation of personality components.
The First Order Model shows the gross structure of personality without any sub-structures being shown. It is represented by the PAC model described earlier and shown in figure 1 below.
The Second Order Model shows PAC substructures of Child and Parent ego states within the ego states of the First Order Model and shown in figure 2 below.
The Third Order Model shows PAC substructure of Child in Child of the Second Order Model and shown in figure 3 below.
First Order Structural Model of Personality: The First Order Model is identical to the PAC model. It is shown in figure 1 above. It uses Parent (P), Adult (A) and Child (C) ego states to represent personality. Descriptions of the First Order Parent, Adult and Child ego states are given on pages 13 and 14.
Second Order Structural Model of Personality: The Second Order Model shows sub-structures of Child and Parent ego states. The Second Order Structural Model is shown in figure 2 on page 15.
The P, A and C of the First Order Model are named P2, A2 and C2 when they represent ego states in the Second Order Structural model. The PAC in the Child is denoted as P1, A1 and C1 and the PAC in Parent is denoted as P3, A3 and C3.
The description, qualities and manifestations of the P2, A2 and C2 ego states are the same as that for Parent, Adult and Child of the First Order Model.
Parent in Child - P1 : This ego state can be the liberator of destiny of an individual or the source of scripting. In the former case we find permissions planted here. In the latter case injunctions. Injunctions are don’t messages which are debilitating and somatically stop their victims in their tracks (See page 73-74 for more). Permissions are liberating and esteem providing. P1 is also the triggering ego state for emotions loaded spontaneous response. It is therefore called ‘Electrode’. It is the activator of Script.
Adult in Child - A1 : This ego state accounts for magical thinking, out of the box thinking, creativity, innovation and other qualities noticed in adults. Remember we as children are helpless to have things go our way. So we have strikingly amazing methods to get out of tight spots and also get what we want. It is therefore called ‘Little Professor’.
Child in Child - C1 : All conclusions of the Child that this ego state incorporates are almost entirely bodily. The infant has poor vision (inside of 18 inches) and cannot clearly listen (the middle ear is filled with amniotic fluid). Our somatic ailments can be traced to events, experiences of this age and the bodily components of other ego states. It is therefore called ‘Somatic Child’.
Second Order Child C2 represents archaic relics dating from our own childhood. They show up in adulthood as childlike behaviour. Treatment of Script is done by implementing redecision. Redecision is reviewing and updating childhood decisions about reality lodged in P1. Escalation of somatic ailments occurs because of contents of C1. This happens alongside activation of script. The contents of C1 are explained in the third order model.
Second Order Parent P2 - We have seen earlier on, that the Parent ego state represents introjected material. There are many parental figures whose PAC is incorporated in P (P2). Each of them is denoted P3, A3 and C3. These represent the behaviour manifestations relevant to their PAC.
Second Order Adult A2 - The second order Adult has no subdivisions.
Third Order Structural Model of Personality:
The sub-structures of C1 (the Child in Child) are shown and marked as P0, A0 and C0. They represent preferences and avoidances that an infant expresses. We need to remember that an infant soon after birth and quite a while thereafter connects to its environment through three principal sensory modes - smelling, touching and tasting. It is confronted with surprise and disgust when its needs related to these three sensory modes are not met. In the main these concern comfort, cosiness, being attended to, touched, massaged, rested, loved and accepted. The Third Order Structural Model is shown in figure 3 on page 15.
Constituent Ego State Structures of Personality: The PAC model is a simplistic model of personality. In reality a combination of some or all of seven PAC structures get activated in response to internal and external stimuli. Figure below presents this conceptually.
Personality Profiles
Personality can be Parent dominant, Adult dominant or Child dominant. These three profiles are shown in the figure below.
Functional Model of Personality
The term functional is a misnomer. Functional ego states do not point to function. Functional ego states are descriptive aspects of structural ego states. They represent the manner in which structural ego states manifest in terms of behaviour in interactions between people.
Descriptive Aspects / Behavioural Manifestations of Parent : Parent manifests as Controlling Parent (CP) or Nurturing Parent (NP). The names explain the two types of manifestations. Controlling Parent is authoritative and power assuming. Nurturing Parent is considerate and helpful. There are two aspects of the Functional Parent. The Controlling Parent may be life and growth supporting or life and growth denying. In the same manner the Nurturing Parent may be life and growth supporting or life and growth denying. If they are, then they carry the same names. When they are not, they are called Critical Parent and Rescuing Parent. Critical Parent may manifest as Persecuting or Punitive Parent.
Descriptive Aspects / Behavioural Manifestations of Child : There are many ways in which sub-divisions of Functional Child ego state are shown. I choose to divide them as Adapted Child and non-Adapted Child. The non-Adapted Child is referred to as Free Child in TA Literature. The non-Adapted Child manifests as Natural Child and Free Child. Natural Child displays childlike behaviour which is free of social or familial influences in operation. Free Child displays childlike behaviour that is not structured by submission to parental and social programming. Adapted Child displays childlike behaviour that is compliant to parental and social programming. It is then called Compliant Child. Adapted Child also displays childlike behaviour that is non-compliant and non-submissive to parental and social programming. It is then called Rebellious Child. These subdivisions are shown in the figure below.
Functional Ego States are classified as being Positive and Negative. Persons interacting with others from their Negative Functional Ego States participate in games and assume roles on the Drama Triangle. The Roles are CP(-) (Persecutor), NP(-) Rescuer and AC(-) (Victim).
There is a debate whether or not functional ego states can be cathected, that is activated by shifts in psychic energy. I personally do not agree. However, such use is of benefit in the study of ego grams and impasses.
Sense of Self and Moving Self
We often experience ourselves as two selves. This happens because we can be dealing with the outside world from one ego state and also be watching this happen from another ego state. Conversations between ego states are also common. Sometimes they are heard, but mostly not. With awareness we can witness the many processes that go on within our mind. Even urges, drives, impulses, eagerness, swings of emotions and deep desires, wishes and aspirations can be observed by us.
At times we are stationed in the ego state that is in the ‘executive’. At other times our ‘sense of self’ is in one ego state and the ‘executive’ is in another ego state. We also journey through the many ego states. This journey is shown in the diagram appearing on next page.
Petruska Clarkson, a leading TA expert, mentions that often times we have the experience of 'this is really me' though this ‘me’ may reside in a borrowed (Parent) or historical (Parent / Child) ego state.
Egogram
Egogram is a bar chart in which the relative strengths of five functional ego states are charted. While egogram test is implemented to analyse clients, experts ask participants to map these intuitively. This is done by first mapping the strongest and then in a reducing manner the other four. A sample egogram is given here.
Egogram is a useful tool in two ways. The first way is to map the progress one is making in changing the strength of personality components. The second way is to identify games in groups and teams. It can also be used in couple therapy.
Constancy Hypothesis
Constancy Hypothesis is a formulation that is useful in effecting change. It works on the principle that the total energy in a closed system is constant. So, if the energy in one ego state is increased it will as a consequence reduce energy in another / other ego state/s.
Constancy Hypothesis can also be used in effecting change by mapping items to change in terms of easy to difficult. Then working on them in order of easy to difficult. By doing so one is able to deal with difficult items with ease in due course of time.
To use constancy hypothesis we do not focus to change the ego state which we wish to weaken. To the contrary we focus on another ego state and increase its strength. As a result the ego state we wish to weaken will automatically weaken. As an example if I wish to reduce CP, I will increase FC and if I wish to reduce NP, I will increase AC.
Ego State Diagnosis
Ego state diagnosis is conducted by clinical practitioners to identify the active ego states that are the cause of intra-personal or inter-personal afflictions. Ego State Diagnosis is implemented through four stages. They are Behavioural Diagnosis, Social Diagnosis, Historical Diagnosis and Phenomenological Diagnosis.
1. Behavioural Diagnosis - This is carried out by looking at behavioural clues. The clues are those pertaining to Functional Parent or Functional Child. The observer looks for identificatory clues.
2. Social Diagnosis - The ego state activated in another as a response, provides clues about the activating ego state in the client. The observer looks at identificatory clues.
3. Historical Diagnosis - This is carried out to trace the first event which caused a shift in ego state structure. The observer looks back at identificatory clues.
4. Phenomenological Diagnosis - Ego state represents a recorded memory cache of an impacting event. Phenomenological diagnosis is conclusive proof of the cause by getting the client to look at the clue first hand by revisiting the event that triggered the shift.
Psychopathology
In clinical psychology, pathology refers to the enduring patterns of thinking, emotion and behaviour. It is manifest by adaptive inflexibility, maladaptive behaviour and emotional instability under stress.
Eric Berne says that 'Pathology is concerned with the reactions of living organisms to injury.' He also says ‘pathology concerns itself with more general reactions which involve the whole psychic organisation, or which are common to a large categories of disturbances.'
Psycho-pathology is covered under two topical heads, structural pathology and functional pathology. Structural pathology explains the effects of anomalies of ego state boundaries. Functional pathology explains the effects of change in lability of cathexis and of permeability of ego state boundaries. Only Structural Pathology is a topic of relevance for beginners.
Structural Pathology
In structural pathology topics of contamination, exclusion and constancy are addressed.
Contamination: In contamination Adult view of reality is coloured or influenced either by Parent or by Child or by both Parent and Child views. In these cases Adult capacity is impaired. The Adult is unable to carry out effective reality testing. The person displays loss of effective social control.
Contamination is likened to barnacles covering a ship's side; and not as one ego state encroaching into the space of another. Decontamination is achieved by peeling off the influence area.
In Parent contamination of Adult, the person believes that the prejudiced view of reality is true and correct and makes every attempt to justify it. Some such strong views are: children should be seen, not heard; dancing is immoral; threat of punishment is the only way to discipline others. The Adult then functions in a prejudicial manner. Prejudices are Parent beliefs which are held as true. These result in misapprehension, self deception and illusions.
In Child contamination of Adult, the person is overtaken by lurking suspicion and fear. Some people are reluctant to change clothes in changing rooms due to the fear that they are being photographed or watched. Child contamination results in delusion. The most common result of this contamination is sincerely believing that we can make another feel happy or feel bad as a result of our thinking, feeling, actions and behaviours. These are Taibi Kahler's famous four myths.
In double contamination the person believes the Child view of reality and supports it with Parent justification. Double contamination signals movement to script. My father does not like me, so I am no good; I am not tall, so I am not smart; I am no good at studies, so I will not do well in my life; are some examples.
Exclusion: Exclusion could be viewed as a disability. Three conditions are possible: Parent Exclusion, Child Exclusion and Adult Exclusion.
In exclusion either one or two ego states become decommissioned. Variations of these are possible with the Parent or Child contaminating the Adult in addition to exclusion of Child or Parent respectively.
Berne mentions in WDYSAYSH that "exclusion can result from one ego state being more highly cathected than the others and takes over regardless of their strivings". He also mentions that "a normal type of exclusion occurs in well-organised personalities, where one ego state takes over with the consent of the others. The Child and Parent for example, let the Adult take over during working hours".
Parent exclusion results in absence of values,no respect for law, and in being free of guilt. There is no voice of reprimand when some people engage in thieving, stealing, cheating or shoplifting.
Child exclusion results in person not experiencing feelings, has no need for joy and happiness, has no need for intimate company. Such persons have weak sense related feelings. If someone says it is cold today. The person replies: Yes, may be, the temperature has dipped to below 20 degrees.
Adult exclusion results in the person using either Parent or Child in dealing with the reality situations. The person expresses inability to think, apply logic, conduct analysis, or make well thought choices.
Constancy: Constancy results from exclusion of two ego states. It leaves only one active ego state to deal with people, situations, problems and difficulties. The single functioning ego state is then called as excluding ego state or constant ego state. Three cases of constancy result. Constancy is represented in diagrams by showing the excluding ego state with a thick boundary. This is shown in the figure below. Sometimes the excluded ego states are shown in dotted lines.
Constant Parent: A coercive boss, strict penalising father, discipline demanding manager are examples resulting from a Constant Parent. A person with a constant Parent fails to make judgements. He also asks people to provide value statements, profit and loss scenarios instead of making them out himself.
Constant Adult: A person with a constant Adult always wants reason, logical explanations, is very practical and more theory oriented. Dedicated mathematicians, physicists, lecturers, bank managers are examples resulting from Constant Adult.
Constant Child: Persons with constant Child have scant regard for responsibility, meeting deadlines, taking things seriously and awareness of rules and regulations. Compliant Child personalities may also have a Constant Child pathology condition.
Commonly occurring Structural Pathologies
Confusion: It happens when there is a dialogue between internal Parent and internal Child without Adult involvement. At times Adult is excluded as shown in the diagram on page 27. The situation is remedied by activating the Adult.
Indecision: This condition results when the Child is not involved in the decision making process. Child activation ends the situation. Seeing children play, eating food slowly and deliberately, hugging spouse or some person with whom we are intimate helps.
Struggle: In struggle Parent is excluded. The Child desires and Adult makes an efforts to fulfil the need. However, without Parent approval the decision remains unapproved. By imagining what one’s father or mother or another significant person would have said, helps to end struggle.
Conflict: Conflict results when conflicting messages are released from CP to AC and NP to FC. This results in a situation when the person asks of himself this: "What if I do?" followed by: "What if I don't?" It seeps energy. Impasses result from conflict. The way out is to make any choice out of the two alternatives and by actioning it.
In Conclusion: Three types of contaminations, three types of exclusions, three types of constancy, three types of personality profiles (figure on page 18) and an unaffected personality structure in seven structures (figure on page 18) dating back three generations (at least) generate over a thousand types of responses to a reality situation in the moment prevailing. The installed programming chooses and implements the response almost instantaneously. Therefore, it makes sense to update the programming instead of working with ego states to remedy the response that we discover after occurrence of an event.
*****
(This Blog is a Chapter in 'My Little TA Book')
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The author can be reached at:
taforyouandme@gmail.com
ajitpkarve@gmail.com
+91 9822024037
The author can be reached at:
taforyouandme@gmail.com
ajitpkarve@gmail.com
+91 9822024037
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