Introduction
This section covers TA concepts and ideas that are fundamental in understanding other principal topics of 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 our life will be lived out. The decision is mythical. The decision determines whether we will be a winner or a loser or one who would live a non-dramatic (banal) life as a grown up.
Life positions structure our attitude, perception, evaluation, assessment and response to persons, events and occurrences based on our self image - based on value, worth and dignity as persons. Life positions contribute to maintaining 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 our life course and our relationships. They go to build our destiny. This is particularly true of people whose life is dramatic.
Strokes
Stroke represents the basic human need for touch. This touch can be physical (kinesthetic), visual, auditory, interactional or for that matter mere recognition of our existence. Studies have shown that stroke deprivation in infancy affects neurological, psychological and emotional growth.
We all seek strokes because they have a survival value. Bad or unhealthy strokes; verbal, physical and implied strokes like insult; psychological or emotional hurt and pain; is better than no stroke at all. Stroke is defined as a unit of recognition. Strokes are also fundamental units of social action.
Time Structuring
People avoid periods of unstructured time to be free of boredom, stereotypy and monotony. Thus 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, Rituals, Activity, Pastimes Game and Intimacy.
Withdrawal means being with one-self. This may occur when we are alone or in the company of others. Flights of imagination, intense mind talk, emotional logjams are all examples of withdrawal.
Rituals are structured formal ways of greeting others or activities like shaking hands or greeting with a namaste.
Activity means spending time alone or with another purposefully for some goal, objective or purpose. These engagements can be in the nature or debate, discussion or work.
Pastimes means spending time over past-times. It occurs when people discuss topics of common interest. The topics do not concern any person in the group. Some topics that are discussed are politics, economy, government, job scenario, cricket, football, tennis or some other.
Games are unhealthy interactions with a hidden purpose. The purpose is to gain a harvest of intense hurtful strokes. These are in the nature of anger, hurt, pain, insult, embarrassment, 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 thinking, feelings, emotions, ideas, opinions with another / others candidly, openly without put-down. Discussing a purchase in a jewellery shop 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 and results in internal distress and resulting 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 manifest as dysfunctional behaviours and thinking disorders. They occur due to passivity. '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. 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 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" as an example.
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 I 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 something 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, an endowment which is relevant to ending a situation or solving a problem safely.
Frame of Reference (FOR)
Frame of reference is a perceptual frame that 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 a 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 occur because of imposition of frame of reference.
Frames of Reference are of two types - Consensual and Scripty. Consensual FOR is a frame of reference free of discounted of 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
Co-dependency occurs because of symbiosis. It is psychological phenomenon. One may depend on another's Parent, Adult or Child in problem solving and ending situations. It is natural phenomenon in children - they are dependent on their care-takers or guidance and advise during growing years. It is unhealthy when it happens or occurs in grown up adults. A husband may depend on wife (at psychological level) for love and affection and the wife for ideas and decisions. The wife has contributed her Child and the husband his Adult.
Parent and Child competitive symbiosis occurs when persons haggle to have a superior Parent or Child role in a relationship.
Redefining
Script is a neuro-psychic mechanism. It controls, structures and directs a script ridden person's perception, evaluation, assessment and response to stimuli. It also controls, structures and directs the script ridden person's life course in important aspects of life. Script by definition is a life plan which directs a person's behaviour in the most significant aspects of his or her life.
A shift from script free living to script ridden living occurs due to redefining. Redefining is a mechanism used by script prone people to maintain their established view of themselves, of others and of the world at large in order to advance their script. It triggers a shift of a part of the consensual frame of reference to scripty frame of reference. 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 the persons occupying Persecutor, Rescuer and Victim game roles on the Drama Triangle.
Psychological Hungers
Psychological hungers compel us to fulfil their related needs. In case we cannot fulfil the same healthily then 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 constitute 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, rituals, activity, pastimes, game and intimacy. The same have been explained above.
Position Hunger : We have an inherent need to maintain our life position. It has its homeostasis. Position hunger dictates that we engage in activities or interactions that provide occasion to maintain our life position. Thus position hunger is satiated.
Incidence Hunger : Incidents provide physical, psychological, emotional, cognitive inputs. Their depth, intensity, impact and staying are all intense. Incidence hunger is satiated by occurrence of untoward incidents from time to time.
Aspirational Hunger : Physis affords growth and development. We seek growth and development in the midst of very rough life. Satiating aspirational hunger promotes physatic growth. This is pictured in transactional analysis by an arrow passing through the three ego states pointing upward. This pictures growth integrating the healthy aspects of the three ego states.
Psychological Trading Stamps
Feelings are two types. Authentic feelings and inauthentic feelings. While authentic feelings when expressed help in ending situations and solving problems, inauthentic feelings do not do the same. Inauthentic feelings are called racket feelings. Escalated feelings of anger, hurt, guilt, scared, inadequacy constitute 'stamps'; so do feeling stupid, baffled, surprised, righteous or triumphant are racket feelings or simply rackets. Psychological trading stamps are produced by sexualising a racket feeling. A variety of unhealthy practices produce psychological trading stamps. They are used for furthering script.
Psychological Trading Stamps are the currency of transactional 'rackets'.
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