TA Foundation Theory
Article Index
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Internet) website. Please use the BACK button on your browser to return here.
Away from a Theory
of the Impact of Interpersonal Interaction on Non-Verbal Participation
by Eric Berne, M.D.
Eric Berne (1910-1970) was the founder of
Transactional Analysis and The International Transactional Analysis
Association. This is a lecture he presented on June 20, 1970, as the keynote
speaker at the Golden Gate Group Psychotherapy Association's annual conference.
It was his last public speech.
Aspects of
Survival: Triumph over Death and Onliness
by Alan Jacobs
This article describes the universal (beyond nation, philosophy of life and
leader) reasons for the German Holocaust, specifically, the relationship
between the atrocious Ideological/Enslaving Master and his or her Followers.
Two script payoffs for this kind of Master are described: a moment of triumph
over death and a moment of onliness, or ulitimate aloneness, achieved through
the deaths of many other people. The exaggeration and joining of these two
human needs produce the psychological basis for genocide and holocaust.
Originally published in the Transactional Analysis Journal, vol. 21 no.1
January 1991. Includes a 1999 addendum by the author.
The
Lure of Fundamentalism
by Fanita English, MSW
The author
discusses fundamentalism and the human quest for meaning in describing a
friend's surprising participation in the antiabortion movement. Concepts of
existential pattern theory are presented to interpret both the friend's
motivation and the dangerous attraction exerted by fundamentalist movements
such as the Christian Coalition.
Originally published in the Transactional
Analysis Journal, vol. 26 no.1 January 1996.
Script and
Counterscript
by Claude Steiner, Ph.D.
"Will power is a
concept meaningful to individuals who find themselves driven to some form of
self-destruction. Essentially, will power is the contraposition of the Parent
against the demands of the script. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) considers will
power a relatively useless concept. Living "a day at a time" is seen as far
more effective, and from the point of view of script psychology this approach
makes good sense. Living a day at a time reduces life to a long series of
short-term episodes which deprive the script of a matrix for development. This
evens out the odds in the contest between the script and will power and gives
will power an even chance."
Originally published in the Transactional
Analysis Bulletin, vol. 5 no.18 April 1966. Includes a 1999 addendum by Alan
Jacobs.
Self-Sealing Doctrines, the
Misuse of Power, and Recovered Memory
by Linda Riebel, Ph.D.
The self-sealing doctrine, a defensive maneuver used to protect cherished
beliefs from disconfirmation, is discussed. Most evident in doctrinaire
religious groups, the self-sealing doctrine may also appear among scholars and
practitioners, and it can be discerned on both sides of the heated debate over
recovered memory. The author advocates critical thinking and a willingness to
test rather than protect cherished beliefs.
Originally published in the
Transactional Analysis Journal, vol. 26 no.1 January 1996. Includes a 2000
addendum by Alan Jacobs
The Miniscript
by Taibi Kahler, Ph.D. and Hedges Capers Div.M., JHD
The purpose of
this article is to present a concept that furthers counterscript theory;
defines sequences of not-OKness; focuses on second by second interlocking
script behavior. It focuses as well on second by second individual scripty
behavior; links second by second behavior with the life script;and finally
suggests a theory of specific, transaction by transaction, script
transmission
Originally published in the Transactional Analysis Journal,
vol. 4 no.1 January 1974. Includes a 1999 addendum by Taibi Kahler.
Scripts: the Role of
Permission
by James Allen, M.D. and Barbara Allen, MSW
"Scripts, as Berne pointed out, are designed to last a lifetime. They are based
on continually reinforced parental programming and on firm childhood deisions.
These decisions, in turn, are based on four interdependent sets of factors: (1)
those parental messages which the child accepts, (2) his existential position,
(3) his limited life experience, and (4) his level of cognitive
development.
From infant and child observation in pre-nursery and child
psychiatric settings, the authors have been struck by two factors which have
not been sufficiently stressed in the literature of transactional
analysis."
Originally published in the Transactional Analysis Journal,
Vol.2, no. 2 April 1972.
Includes a 1998 addendum by the authors.
Fairy Tales and
Script Drama Analysis
by Stephen Karpman, M.D.
"Fairy tales
help inculcate the norms of society into young minds consciously, but
subconsciously may provide an attractive stereotyped number of roles,
locations, and timetables for an errant life script. To date, the scientific
structural analysis of scripts has been based on the Script Matrix (Steiner,
1966). In this paper I will present some diagrams for drama analysis of the
script, using familiar examples from well known fairy tales."
Originally
published in the Transactional Analysis Bulletin, vol. 7 no. 26, 1968.
Transactional
Analysis of Witch Messages
by Leonard Campos, Ph.D.
AUTHOR'S NOTE (1999) The following article was published in 1970 and is now
part of early TA history. It has not been changed from the original and should
be viewed in its historical context. In today's terminology, modern TA theory
has departed from the use of metaphors such as "witch" parent and "curses."
When a person is in a child ego state he may perceive his mother negatively as
a "witch" and feel as if his behavior is under the control of her "curse." But
in modern day scientific terminology we are more inclined to view negative
family influences and the childhood decisions that incorporate them in terms of
the more objective language of a person's life "script."
This article was
first presented as a paper at the annual meeting of the California State
Psychological Association on January 16,1970 at Monterey, California. It was
originally published in the Transactional Analysis Bulletin, vol. 9, no. 34,
1970.
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