Draw your egogram

Sketch a bar chart of how much time you spend in each ego state, and see which one to grow.

Pourquoi ça marche

John Dusay proposed the egogram, a bar chart of the energy a person puts into each functional ego state: a controlling or critical Parent, a nurturing Parent, the Adult, a free Child and an adapted (compliant) Child. His accompanying "constancy hypothesis" held that the total stays roughly fixed, so when one state grows another shrinks. The practical consequence is that a person who wants less of a harsh Critical Parent does better by deliberately exercising a low bar, such as the Free Child or the Nurturing Parent, than by trying to suppress the high one.

Comment faire

1. Draw five columns: Critical Parent, Nurturing Parent, Adult, Free Child, Adapted Child.
2. Without overthinking, draw a bar for each showing how much of an ordinary week you spend in it, judged by what you actually do, not what you wish.
3. Ask one or two people who know you well to draw one for you, and compare.
4. Pick the lowest bar you would like higher, and choose one small action this week that exercises it (play, praise someone, ask a factual question).

Données probantes

The egogram and the constancy hypothesis come from Dusay's 1972 paper in the Transactional Analysis Journal. It is a self-assessment and teaching tool used throughout TA practice; the hand-drawn version is a picture of how someone sees themselves, not a measurement. (clinical)

The constancy hypothesis is a working assumption that has not been confirmed experimentally, and a hand-drawn egogram reflects self-perception, which others may not share. It is a reflection aid, not a test result.

Sources

• Dusay, J. M. (1972). Egograms and the "constancy hypothesis". Transactional Analysis Journal, 2(3), 37-41.

Erreur fréquente

Trying to flatten your highest bar by force. Dusay's point is the opposite: build up the low bar, and the high one tends to lose energy on its own.