Games People Play (Eric Berne, Ballantine, 1964, ISBN 345-24682-9-175)
Like anything else in life (especially "moldy oldies'), Games… has both assets and liabilities. On the negative side: TA was in its infancy when the book was written; some of the material is dated; the inescapable, tireless fury of psychobabble lurks within; there is a certain mechanistic rigidity (the "cookie-cutter curse") to the approach; and much of it is gender-specific. (This apparent defect, however, is also an advantage. See below). On the positive side, Berne's method is both substantive and -- most importantly -- workable.
This is to say that transactional analysis is a readily "weaponized" behavioral technology, with numerous offensive and defensive applications. Defensively, its primary useful applications are: 1.) Identifying one's own weakness, with a view towards disguising or (preferably) eliminating/remedying them; 2.) Learning to spot telltale behaviors in others; enabling one practice the adage "The first step in avoiding a trap is identifying it"; 3.) Deescalating conflict via the appropriate countermeasure(s).
Offensive applications are more numerous, and include the following:
1.) Feigning certain "games," thereby throwing an enemy or unwary mark off-balance. An example of this application is employing a play that suggests the desire for recognition or approval when one's real motive is revenge. Heeding the "expert" advice, "He just wants attention. Ignore him and he'll go away," the mark does just that -- and takes his eye off the ball, creating an opening for "active payback." A more sophisticated version consists of setting a paranoid mark on edge. Constitutionally incapable of ignoring a potential threat, he/she will pretend to ignore it, whilst quietly going bonkers. In this case, the "passive payback" consists of encouraging the fear and deriving satisfaction from the mark's antics (wasting time, energy, and money on needless security precautions; alienating friends, neighbors, and the authorities with incessant cries of "Wolf!" etc).
2.) Knowingly setting oneself up as a "player" in a mark's game of choice -- but forearmed with an appropriate countermeasure. In short, bully busting via psychological "suicide bombing" -- minus the risk of actual suicide.
There are many, many more, but as experience is the best teacher and nature the best laboratory, the reader should discover and practice them himself. To the more astute (and less ham-fisted) reader, Games People Play serves as piece of the "puzzle" of existence, drawing attention to patterns he/she may never have noticed. Although rooted in the mores and conventions of the mid-twentieth century; the book provides workable tips for productive, rewarding social interaction or, in today's dumbed-down, mealy-mouthed parlance: "better relationships."
This brings us full circle, to one last "weaponized" application. Abandonment of traditional gender roles in Europe and North America is a localized phenomenon. The "anything goes" culture so prevalent in the West is budding "Sith's" playground, as men and women now play once-exclusive "games" with equal relish and equally debilitating results. As the exact roles of nature and nurture ("hard-wiring" vs. "conditioning") are still imperfectly understood and hotly debated, the en vogue free-for-all approach to gaming may actually undermine potential enemies of both sexes -- without providing compensatory strengths.
"Study deeply upon this," as Musashi wrote.
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