Transactional Analysis Journal

This article briefly critiques an earlier article in the Transactional Analysis Journal (Nykodym, Freedman, Simonetti, Nielsen, & Battles, 1995) on mentoring and goes on to propose that the traditional style of mentoring is increasingly inappropriate in modern organizations. The author then describes the potential contribution to mentoring of the transactional analysis concepts of contracting, three-cornered contracting, psychological distance, drivers, ego states, strokes, and the assessing quadrant and explains how these can provide valuable input to a mentoring process that is based on developmental alliances between equals.

This quasi-experimental study attempted to identify possible differences between African-American (n = 40) and Anglo-American (n = 40) undergraduate college students (ages 17 to 27) relative to personality variables: (1) ego states as measured by the Ego State Questionnaire (ESQ), an experimenter-constructed instrument; (2) locus of control as measured by the Locus of Control Subscale of the Opinion Scale; and (3) dogmatism as measured by the Dogmatism Subscale of the Opinion Scale. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) with the effects of age, sex, and socioeconomic status statistically removed revealed no significant differences between African-American and Anglo-American subjects on the mean vectors of the predictor variables, F(7, 69) = 1.53, p <.17. In other words, there was no statistically significant difference between African-American and Anglo-American undergraduates on any of the ego state, locus of control, or dogmatism measures when the effects of age, gender, and socioeconomic status were controlled for. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) ignoring the effects of age, sex, and socioeconomic status also revealed no significant differences between African-American and Anglo-American undergraduates on any of the ego state, locus of control, or dogmatism measures, E(7,72) = 1.10, p <.37. A one-way MANOVA by gender revealed a significant difference between males and females on the Nurturing Parent ego state. Ways in which taking specific account of this finding might help in designing educational and counseling programs for women and men are discussed. It is recommended that the investigation be replicated with similar populations and that students sampled be from more than one academic institution.

The purpose of this article is to explain how empirical research on attribution interventions can be associated with research on stroking. To do this, strokes, attribution theory, and attribution research are explained. It is argued that attribution researchers use the concept of stroking in their research even though they do not use transactional analysis terms to operationalize their research.

This article begins with the assumption that the concept of strokes, as connected to recognition hunger, has enlarged—in post-Bernian thinking—in importance until it has become the most widely held motivational factor theorized. This supports a vision of social intercourse that is too dependent on the need for strokes. A careful analysis of Berne's writing—from his early papers on intuition to his last work—shows how the basis for general human motivation should be found in stimulus hunger and in several instincts as well. It is suggested that a major emphasis on stimuli seeking, rather than on recognition, could favor a vision of social intercourse as a relationship in which the participants have more active and positive roles.

The concept of adolescent anger is described so that it can be explained to the teenager and his or her parents in such a way that it is readily understandable and usable. It also provides the psychotherapist with a system of looking at the teenager so that treatment options become available for dealing with the anger.

This article reviews some of the major ideas about life positions and their origins and then discusses a recent exchange about them. The disagreements are classified as deriving from confusion between observation of behavior and moral rules. Proposing a refinement of existential position diagnosis, a calibration of the OK Corral (Ernst, 1971) is suggested.

This article presents an in-depth study of a real therapy process with a client struggling with a dissociative script. The emphasis of the article is on the therapy process and the hypotheses developed rather than on dissociation as a form of pathology. Dissociation is discussed in terms of which first- and second-order ego states are excluded at various stages. The article was written with trainees in mind, but it will also be of interest to therapists and their clients.

This article discusses problems of social adjustment experienced by children of immigrant families in Italy. Such difficulties, which take the form of anxiety and depression at the intrapsychic level and antisocial behavior at the social level, are related to conflicting injunctions these young people receive. The first injunction, which originates in the family, demands that they not adjust to the host society; the second, which is of societal origin, prohibits them from being themselves, especially in terms of their culture of origin. Possible rehabilitation actions are suggested, and theoretical remarks related to script theory are offered.

This article describes a method of psychotherapy by correspondence. The use of transactional analysis makes it possible to analyze and use “The Confidence Post” as a method of establishing an effective therapist-client relationship. A case is described in which this method was applied with a psychotic patient.