The complex adult presentations of shame are redefined in terms of the affect theory of Silvan Tomkins (1962, 1963, 1991) and then linked to early decisions. The author presents a new definition of emotion that integrates transactions, cognition, and biology. Transactional analysis was designed by Berne as a way of altering emotional experience without discussing emotion. This article offers a conceptual framework that was unavailable to Berne but which facilitates integration of TA techniques with a far wider range of treatment modalities.
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