Introduction
This section covers TA concepts and ideas that are fundamental in understanding TA Theory.
Life Positions
Life position is also known as existential position or basic life position. We, as infants and children, decide in a primitive way, how we will live out our life as grown-ups. The decision is unintentional and mythical. The decision determines whether we will live the life of a winner, or that of a loser or a non-dramatic (banal) life.
Life positions structure our attitudes, perceptions, evaluations, assessments and responses to persons, events and occurrences, when we are subjected to stressful situations. They are based on our self-image. The components of self image are value, worth, dignity, esteem and respect as persons. Life positions help to maintain, the psychological inertia and homeostasis, of the psychic organisation. Psychological inertia is demonstrated by resistance to change or shift from one position to another. Homeostasis is demonstrated by the psychic system maintaining its stability. Save it to say, that life positions mould and shape our life course, and our relationships too. They go to build our destiny. This is particularly true in the case of people whose life is dramatic.
Strokes
Stroke represents the basic human need for touch. This touch can be physical, visual, auditory, interactional or for that matter as a mere recognition of our existence. It satiates stimulus hunger. It is defined as a unit of recognition. Studies have shown that stroke deprivation in infancy, affects neurological, psychological and emotional growth during growing years.
Strokes are fundamental units of social action. Social action is an inbuilt drive to recognise the presence of another and to connect with, to interact with, and to relate with people we encounter.
We all seek strokes because they have a survival value. People seek unhealthy strokes, like those causing hurt, pain, injury, insult, when there is a deficit of healthy strokes. Why? Because, such strokes are better than no stroke at all.
Time Structuring
People avoid periods of unstructured time, to be free of boredom, stereotypy and monotony. Therefrom arises the need for filling time, and structuring time. Time structuring also helps in keeping the supply of strokes flowing.
There are six ways of structuring time. They are Withdrawal, Ritual, Activity, Pastime, Game and Intimacy.
Withdrawal means being with one-self. This may occur when we are alone, or being engaged in self thoughts, when we are in the company of others. Flights of imagination, intense mind talk, emotional logjams are all examples of withdrawal.
Ritual means structured, formal ways of greeting others, or activities like shaking hands, greeting with a namaste, wishing good morning, or enquiring about the well-being of others.
Activity means spending time alone, or with another in the service of a goal, objective or purpose. These engagements can be in the nature of a discussion or work.
Pastime means spending time over past-times. It occurs when people discuss topics of mutual interest. The topics do not concern any person in the group. Some of the topics that are frequently discussed are about politics, the country's economy, government, job scenarios, or sports like cricket, football, tennis or some other.
Games are unhealthy interactions people engage, in order to gain a harvest of intense painful or hurtful strokes. These are in the nature of anger, hurt, pain, insult, injury, guilt, isolation or feeling grandiose. Games mostly take place between persons in close relationships and associations.
Intimacy is rare and occurs when we share our thoughts, feelings, emotions, ideas, opinions with another / others candidly, openly, and honestly, without put-downs. Discussing the purchase of a jewellery item with a partner is an example of intimacy. This intimacy is not to be confused with intimacy as is commonly understood.
Passivity
Passivity means inaction. Passivity is displayed when one does nothing or does something inappropriately or ineffectively. Passivity in feeling, thinking, or doing, disrupts the balance of social functioning. This results in internal distress causing behaviour disorders. We experience passivity when we are confused, stunned, embarrassed, struggling for a solution, searching for words or irritated.
Passive Behaviours
Passive behaviours are manifestations of internal distress. They occur due to passivity. They manifest as dysfunctional behaviours and thinking disorders. 'Discounting' is the mechanism. Passive behaviours show up as Doing Nothing, Over Adaptation, Agitation and Incapacitation. Thinking disorders show up as generalising and over-detailing. They are ineffective because some aspect of self, or of another, or of reality situation is unawarely ignored.
Doing Nothing: In doing nothing one withholds investing energy in doing something, or in taking appropriate action. To the contrary, energy is invested in inaction. Spending time worrying instead of calling up somebody and seeking help, is an example of doing nothing.
Over Adaptation: Being over-enthusiastic in taking up activity unilaterally, is over adaptation. The person believes that it is his / her responsibility for doing so. The person is praised by others for being hard-working and caring. The person fails to seek help, assistance or participation. A working home-maker is an example. She rushes to the kitchen on reaching home, instead of taking some rest on arrival.
Agitation: Agitation constitutes repetitive, ineffective, purposeless behaviour meant to discharge tension, instead of using the energy in problem solving or ending the situation. Children chewing pencil ends, leg wagging, finger tapping, pacing up and down, picking up the mobile phone under stress, surfing mobile apps and smoking are examples of agitation.
Incapacitation and Violence: Incapacitation and Violence results from the person discharging energy by harming self or another. Self-isolation, banging one's head and hurting oneself, throwing items at another, substance abuse, addictions of sorts, going crazy, becoming aggressive or abusive, attacking others, causing personal and material loss, or causing bodily harm are forms of incapacitation and violence.
Thinking Disorders
Over-detailing and generalisation are two types of thinking disorders.
Over-detailing: In over-detailing the person uses unnecessary details to convey information. "Actually, what I want to tell you, and I should have told this to you yesterday, is that I am not coming tomorrow." Instead of "Sir, I am not coming tomorrow".
Generalization: Generalization occurs when something related to one thing is viewed to be of many. For example: If one person or a few persons do not follow traffic rules we say: "the traffic is chaotic because people do not follow traffic rules."
Thinking disorders also show up as escalations and fantasizing.
Discounting
Discounting means offering a thing for less or overlooking an obvious fact. Discounting is a psychological phenomenon. In discounting, some aspect/s of reality is ignored, overlooked, perceived larger / stronger / more powerful / more difficult than actual or perceived smaller / weaker / less powerful / easier than actual. In either case a distortion has occurred. Discounting has taken place. This shift happens beyond conscious awareness. The response is inappropriate to the existing reality situation. Therefore, it is ineffective. Discounting is accompanied by grandiosity.
Discounting is unawarely minimizing, maximizing or ignoring an aspect of reality, a capacity or an endowment which is relevant to ending a situation or solving a problem.
Frame of Reference (FOR)
Frame of reference is a perceptual frame we use to see, view, evaluate, assess and respond to people and reality situations. It is generated by activate Parent, Adult and Child ego states in response to stimuli. Every person perceives the same reality differently. Seated on the terrace of a flat, one person in the group might like it for its airiness, another for the potted plants, another for having morning tea and still another for placing a swing. Distortion of reality and reality situations occurs because of imposition of a frame of reference.
Frames of Reference (FORs) are of two types - Consensual and Scripty. Consensual frame of reference is free of discounting aspects of reality. Scripty frame of reference is structured by discounted elements.
The frame of reference is the first to be activated upon a stimulus being received by a person. It structures the person's perception, evaluation, assessment and response to reality.
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is a psychological phenomenon. Co-dependency results. One may depend on another's Parent, Adult or Child in problem solving and ending situations. It is a natural phenomenon in children - they are dependent on their care-takers for guidance and advise during growing years. It is unhealthy when it happens or occurs in grown up adults. A husband may depend on his wife (at psychological level) for love and affection and the wife may depend on her husband for ideas and decisions. The wife has contributed her Child and the husband his Adult when this symbiosis occurs.
Parent and Child competitive symbiosis occurs when people haggle, to have a superior Parent or Child role in a relationship.
Redefining
Redefining is a mechanism script prone people use, in order to maintain their established view of themselves, other people, and the world, in order to advance their script. It occurs when the consensual frame of reference is inconsistent with their scripty frame of reference.
A shift from script free living to script ridden living occurs due to redefining. Discounting and redefining are intertwined processes and it is difficult to segregate one from the other.
Redefining manifests behaviourally as passive behaviours and thinking disorders, transactionally as tangential and blocking transactions, structurally as Parent and Child competitive Symbiosis and functionally by persons occupying Persecutor, Rescuer and Victim roles on the Drama Triangle.
Psychological Hungers
Psychological hungers compel us to fulfil their related needs. In case we cannot fulfil the same healthily, unhealthy modes are used to satiate them. There are six psychological hungers. They are: Stimulus Hunger, Recognition Hunger, Structure Hunger, Position Hunger, Incidence Hunger and Aspirational Hunger.
Stimulus Hunger: Stimulus Hunger is satiated through the agency of strokes. A stroke by definition is a unit of recognition. When healthy stimulating strokes are not available, people take recourse to unhealthy strokes. Healthy strokes are pleasing, while unhealthy strokes are painful. No strokes are also unhealthy strokes.
Recognition Hunger: Recognition is afforded by social intercourse. A set comprising a transactional stimulus and a transactional response together constitutes a transaction. Transaction is a unit of social intercourse. It has components of communication and stroke.
Structure Hunger: We have seen that people structure time in order to avoid boredom, stereotypy and monotony. Structure hunger is satiated through the agency of time structuring. Time structuring is done in six ways: withdrawal, ritual, activity, pastime, game and intimacy.
Position Hunger: We have an inherent need to maintain our life position. It has its homeostasis. Position hunger forces us to engage in activities or interactions that provide occasion to maintain our life position. Thus, position hunger is satiated.
Incidence Hunger: Incidents provide physical, mental, emotional and psychological inputs. Their depth, intensity, impact and staying are all intense. Incidence hunger is satiated by occurrence of untoward incidents or accidents from time to time.
Sexual Hunger: It is a natural drive in healthy adults to engage in sex - a drive to penetrate / be penetrated. It satiates other hungers in the process.
Aspirational Hunger: Physis affords growth and development. We seek growth and development in the midst of a rough life. Satiating aspirational hunger promotes physatic growth. This is pictured in transactional analysis by a vertical arrow originating at the bottom of the Child ego state, passing through the three ego states and exiting out of the Parent ego state. It pictures growth, integrating the healthy aspects of the three ego states.
Psychological Trading Stamps
Psychological Trading Stamps are packets of stored feelings / emotional hypes. They are 'cashed' by script prone people to push their script to its payoff. As an example, anger converts to dislike, then to hate, then to resentment and then into animosity. It then shows up as a physical fight, legal battle, or homicide.
Psychological trading stamps are produced by sexualising a racket feelings. Racket feelings are escalated feelings of anger, hurt, guilt, scared, inadequacy; so also feeling stupid, wronged, cheated, baffled, surprised, righteous or triumphant.
The payoff of games are psychological trading stamps.
Rackets are repetitive, inauthentic behavioural patterns, exploitative by nature for gaining attention and furthering script. Psychological Trading stamps are the currency of transactional (interactional) rackets.
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