g factors: 1) the relief of tension; 2) the avoidance of noxious situations; 3) the procurement of stroking; and 4) the maintenance of an established equilibrium. Basically, games are developed and played out (time after time, in many cases) to achieve one or more of these objectives. Berne (23) further contends that a limited selection of ego states (that of Parent, Child, or Adult) are available to the individual and that it is from these ego states that personality is formed. When playing a game -- or engaged in ritualized social intercourse -- one of these ego states is regarded as predominating or "being in charge."
Berne (29) positions his theory of games within the context of what is known as "transactional analysis." In this psychological theory, it is postulated that the unit of social intercourse is always a transaction of some sort. A transactional stimulus initiates the exchange, followed by a response. "Simple transactional analysis is concerned with diagnosing which ego state implemented the transactional stimulus, and which one executed the transactional response, " says Berne (29), who goes on to identify a set of complementary transactions. The three ego states (i.e., Parent, Adult, and Child) can be found in both complementary and "crossed" or potentially conflicting patterns and arrangements in the transaction, which is the basic unit of social contact.
Further, Berne (35) sees in human interaction a numbe
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