CHA RACT ER ED UC AT IO N
Parallel transaction: Adult to Adult
P
A
P
Can we talk about
last lesson?
OK. What did you
want to discuss?
C
A
C
Cross-transaction: Child to Parent
P
A
P
Can we talk
about last lesson?
C
A
OMG what
did I do wrong?
C
Cross-transaction: Parent to Child
P
A
C
Have you nothing
better to do?
Can we talk
about last lesson?
P
A
C
The PAC model incorporates inferiority and superiority
feelings of Adlerian analysis, a school of thought
developed by Freud’s colleague Alfred Adler, who
invented the ‘inferiority complex’. The vertical dimension
is active when one person relates to another as on a
different level in the triad, for example, as Parent to
Child or as Child to Parent. Whether caused by benign
misunderstanding or by ulterior motives, the vertical
dimension both reveals and reinforces latent inferiority
or superiority feelings. Someone with a strong Adult will
have a better chance of continuing to relate in an Adult
manner, even if the other person moves into Parent or
Child mode. Likewise someone with a strong Child will
tend to assume that position, even if the other person is
relating as an Adult.
In the language of Transactional Analysis, the teacher’s
role in character education can be summed up as
inculcating stronger Adult patterns. In the absence of
good Adult role models, young people will strive to
move from the inferior position of the Child to the
superior position of the Parent. For a ready example,
consider the Parental approach of older towards younger
siblings. By teaching the PAC model to a young person,
you set up the opportunity to re-engage their Adult.
If the young person moves into Parent or Child mode,
then you can ask them, ‘Where are you operating in the
PAC model?’ This question is less threatening than
‘What is your goal?’ because the PAC model treats
them as a holistic individual and accepts that all people
– including adults – move between Parent, Adult and
Child roles. When the young person responds to the PAC
question, it will be clear from the tenor of their response
that you have helped their Adult to put one hand back on
the wheel. Eventually the young person is able to ask you
the same question at a key moment and you have the
opportunity to laugh together at your inner Child
or Parent.
Note that ‘Where are you operating in the PAC model?’
could be asked as a Parent talking down to a Child, where
the underlying message is ‘You’re being childish’. We
must be careful to avoid giving this impression by using
tone and expression to communicate respectful, earnest
inquiry. Once again, the process of inquiry separates
the action from the person, liberating the individual to
evaluate their actions from an Adult position because
they do not feel that vertical status is at stake.
Reference
Harris,T.A. (1967) I’m OK – you’re Ok. Harper & Row.
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