Some Reflections on Simple OKness

Abstract

The transactional analysis formulation of “I'm OK, You're OK” can become jargon when it is used simplistically to define the selfhood of the individual. The authors contend that selfhood is more complex than that and illustrate this idea with examples of how some mass murderers have an elevated sense of their OKness while some philanthropists struggle with a sense of their not-OKness. The authors conclude that the complexity of selfhood cannot be defined simply in terms of OKness and not-OKness.