Key Management Development Models

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Transactional analysis

The big picture

Transactional analysis (TA) is a branch of popular psychology developed in the 1950s by Canadian psychoanalyst Eric Berne (1910–1970), which contends that in our relationships we approach each other from a variety of ‘ego states’, described as Parent, Adult and Child. Through an understanding of our own and other people’s ego states we can communicate better and develop more effective relationships with others.

When two people meet, one will start to talk. What that person says is called the transaction stimulus. The other will respond with the transaction response. Each stimulus and response is said to come from one of the three ego states: parent, adult or child. It is important to note that the terms ...