Games People Play

The person who initiates a game does so with a discount. These come in one of four varieties: (1) a discount that there is a problem, (2) a discount of the significance of the problem, (3) a discount that the problem is solvable by the person and (4) a discount that the problem is solvable by anyone.

She concluded that there are really only three major patterns: NIGYSOB, in which a person switches from helpless or defiant Child to Parent, Kick Me, in which a person switches from bossy or helpful Parent to Child, and Uproar, where both partners switch ego states simultaneously and march off.

Actually a position is primarily manifested by the mental attitude to which it gives rise, and it is with this attitude that the individual undertakes the transactions which constitute his role.

Hence games are both necessary and desirable, and the only problem at issue is whether the games played by an individual offer the best yield for him.

the payoff of a game reinforces a person’s basic existential position,

In such a case, we could call these feelings an emotional “racket.” She would be using her distress, like trading stamps, to turn in later for a “prize.”

Berne described ego states as coherent ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that occur together.

A role is something like what Jung calls persona, except that it is less opportunistic and more deeply rooted in the individual’s fantasies. Thus in Projective “PTA” one player may take the role of tough Parent, another the role of righteous Parent, a third the role of indulgent Parent and a fourth the role of helpful Parent. All four experience an

can use to advance her script.