Games People Play

Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships is a 1964 bestselling book by psychiatrist Eric Berne. Since its publication it has sold more than five million copies. The book describes both functional & dysfunctional social interactions. In the 1st half, he introduces Transactional Analysis as a way of interpreting social interactions. He describes three roles or ego states known as the Child, the Parent & the Adult & postulates that many negative behaviors can be traced to switching or confusion of these roles. He discusses procedures, rituals & pastimes in social behavior, in light of this method of analysis. For example, a boss who talks to his staff as a controlling parent will often engender self-abased obedience, tantrums or other childlike responses from his employees. The 2nd half of the book catalogs a series of games in which people interact thru a patterned & predictable series of transactions which are superficially plausible (that is, they may appear normal to bystanders or even to the people involved), but which actually conceal motivations, include private significance to the parties involved, & lead to a well-defined predictable outcome, usually counterproductive. The book uses ƒ??Boy, has he got your numberƒ? & other casual phrases as a way of briefly describing each game. Often, the winner of a mind game is the person that returns to the Adult ego-state 1st. Not all interactions or transactions are part of a game. Specifically, if both parties in a one-on-one conversation remain in an Adult ego-state, its unlikely that a game is being played.