Monday, October 14, 2019

Transactional Analysis and Automatic Processing


Transactional Analysis and Automatic Processing

Transactional Analysis [1] states that human personality is made up of three elements which he referred to as Parent, Adult and Child.  . In any given situation an individual will exhibit a certain pattern of behavior which corresponds to the way that person is actually feeling at the time. As feelings change, so also do the patterns of behavior which the person displays.

The Parent ego state represents a set of thoughts, feelings and behavior which are derived from parental figures.  Parent ego state enables people to respond automatically in many situations.  This
enables the person to react quickly and without unnecessary energy.  Parent  ego state has all the attributes of any automatic process.

Contrary to the controlled processes automatic processes [2]  involve selection without awareness. These processes are effortless, fast, and can be carried out concurrently with other processes without compromising performance. Once automatic processes are initiated, they are difficult to modify.  So, if a person raises his/her voice it is very unlikely that it will stop before its content ends.

Also, automatic processes typically do not produce changes in declarative long-term memory. Consequently, a person may drive home from work on ‘auto-pilot’ and have no conscious memory of the trip.  This may be the reason why people do not remember much after they quarrel loudly.

The automatic processes are performed automatically but they can also be executed consciously.  They are part of the subconscious.  The preconscious (subconscious)- consists of anything that could potentially be brought into the conscious mind[1].  Subconscious defines all reactions and automatic actions we can become aware of if we think about them.

For example, our ability to drive a car: once we get skilled we stop thinking which gears to use, which pedals to press, or which mirror to look at, yet can always become aware of what was done once we think about it [3].

The subconscious is the transition between unconscious and conscious.  It is an interface with which conscious communicates with the unconscious.  It also helps to hide the plethora of information/feelings etc. that reside in the unconscious [4].

It is not rare that we hear an ATCO shouting at a pilot.  It is possibly an automatic, unintentional behavior which is triggered similar to a situation in her/his childhood and carried by the parent ego.
The sudden feeling of fear from controlling parents at childhood may trigger shouting.  It is not likely that the shouting person can modify his/her behavior during the intercourse.  The use of standard pilot - ATCO jargon-like in 4444 may reduce the risks related to this situation.

REFERENCES:
[1] Aldi Yudha; Counselling Skills and theory, 4th Edition by Margaret Hough (2014)

[2]  LANA M. TRICKy*, JAMES T. ENNSz, JESSICA MILLSz and JOHN VAVRIKx, ‘Paying attention behind the wheel: a framework for studying the roleof attention in driving’,Theor. Issues in Ergon. Sci. September–October 2004, vol. 5, no. 5, 385–424, (yDepartment of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, zUniversity of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,xInsurance Corporation of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

[3] The Structure of the Mind, According to Freud, Kendra Cherry Updated March 11, 2019

[4] Gregory Mitchell; The Cognitive Unconscious
[5] Dr. Robert Williams; Processing Information with Nonconscious Mind, JOURNAL PSYCHE, 
University of Texas at Austin, American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA).