CTA Games People Play & Game Analysis 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In transactional analysis, what is a 'game'?
- A recreational activity in therapy
- A repetitive series of transactions with a hidden agenda that ends in bad feelings (Correct answer)
- A therapeutic role-play technique
- A competitive interaction between clients
Correct answer: A repetitive series of transactions with a hidden agenda that ends in bad feelings
A game in TA is a recurring series of transactions with an ulterior motive that ends predictably with negative feelings (the payoff) for all parties.
Question 2: What is the 'payoff' of a psychological game in TA?
- A financial reward
- The negative feeling that confirms the player's script at the game's conclusion (Correct answer)
- A therapeutic breakthrough
- A positive stroke
Correct answer: The negative feeling that confirms the player's script at the game's conclusion
The payoff is the negative emotional outcome each player experiences at the end of the game, which reinforces their script beliefs and life position.
Question 3: What is the 'Drama Triangle' in TA?
- A conflict resolution model
- A model showing how players shift between Persecutor, Rescuer, and Victim roles in games (Correct answer)
- A triangular seating arrangement in group therapy
- A three-person family system
Correct answer: A model showing how players shift between Persecutor, Rescuer, and Victim roles in games
The Drama Triangle, developed by Stephen Karpman, shows how game players shift between three roles — Persecutor, Rescuer, and Victim — in a predictable sequence.
Question 4: In the Drama Triangle, what characterizes the 'Rescuer' role?
- Aggressive attacks on others
- Appearing to help while actually maintaining the Victim's helplessness (Correct answer)
- Passive suffering
- Neutral problem-solving
Correct answer: Appearing to help while actually maintaining the Victim's helplessness
The Rescuer in the Drama Triangle appears to help but actually maintains the Victim's dependence and helplessness, often acting from an I'm OK, You're Not OK position.
Question 5: What is the 'con' in Berne's game formula (Con + Gimmick → Response → Switch → Crossup → Payoff)?
- A confidence trick in the legal sense
- The covert message or hook that initiates the game (Correct answer)
- A conscious manipulation
- A social transaction
Correct answer: The covert message or hook that initiates the game
The con is the covert, ulterior message the game initiator sends to hook the other player into the game sequence.
Question 6: What is the 'gimmick' in Berne's game formula?
- A therapeutic tool
- The weakness or vulnerability in the respondent that allows the con to hook them (Correct answer)
- A clever therapeutic technique
- An unusual transaction
Correct answer: The weakness or vulnerability in the respondent that allows the con to hook them
The gimmick is the respondent's vulnerability — a need, weakness, or script belief — that makes them susceptible to the initiator's con.
CTA Games People Play & Game Analysis 1
In transactional analysis, what is a 'game'?