The 3 ego states, according to transactional analysis

Transactional analysis is a method derived from humanistic psychology proposed by Eric Berne in the 1950s.. Since then it has undergone some variations, but most of its components remain the same. In particular, what has to do with ego states.

This type of analysis has proven to be a very functional method to describe personality. and promote changes when necessary. One of its axes is the three ego states, namely: parent, adult and child. According to this theory, each person interacts with others from one of these states.

Ego states are defined as specific ways of feeling. think and act. In this way, according to transactional analysis, human beings relate to others using a position of parents, children, or adults. From each of these states, specific consequences arise in our interactions with the world.

The child, one of the ego states

The child is the most basic of ego states. Corresponds to impulses most basic, which were learned and used since childhood and that, for various reasons, have become fixed in our personality. In principle, it has to do with expressing what we feel and think completely spontaneously.

Transactional analysis makes a distinction between the “child natural” and the “programmed child.” The first is the one we have described. The second is a child who was not allowed to fully express himself and therefore becomes capricious and repressed; Thus, from this approach, these states can remain almost intact in adult life.

The father

The father is another of the ego states in light of transactional analysis. This corresponds to everything we learn from our parents during childhood. . It is like a replica of their behaviors and ways of seeing the world.

In general, This corresponds to attitudes related to the exercise of authority and power, as well as beliefs, prejudices, ideologies and everything that makes up the world of norms and values. Also the position towards freedom.

As in the case of the child, there is also a “natural father” and a “programmed father.” The natural father is associated with protection, care, and guidance and guidance functions. The programmed father, for its part, is related to authoritarianism, verticality and the exercise of power over others.

The adult

For transactional analysis, the adult is the organized way of perceiving reality, in accordance with the knowledge and experiences that we have acquired as a result of autonomous reflection. You could say that it is the most authentic dimension of our being.

The adult is the only one of the ego states that “it shows us what we are”without the conditions that we receive from our primary environment. It understands our most rational and self-critical facets. Reason predominates in this.

The main characteristic of the adult ego state is self-control and self-determination. It does not exclude either the child or the parent, but it manages to moderate their expressions and their effects.

Ego states and well-being

For transactional analysis, a healthy person is one who manages to combine all the ego states in their natural form and regulate them through the adult.. Thus, in the realm of affection, the healthiest thing is to allow the natural child or natural parent to emerge to the point where it is reasonable.

The problem comes when what predominates is a programmed child or a programmed parent.. In the first case, what is produced is a capricious adult who seeks others to take care of him and gets angry when he does not get what he wants. In the second case, an authoritarian and demanding person who seeks to impose himself on others would predominate.

For this type of approach, the decisive thing is to identify which of these ego states predominate in our personality.. The objective is to regulate them through the adult aspect, so that interactions with the world are healthier.

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