Something more on games

by Luis Pisoni
(Rovereto, Italy)

Games have been conceptualized and treated in psychology by Eric Berne in his “Games People Play”, originating game analysis.


“Game analysis is the analysis of a series of overt social transactions that are accompanied by covert ulterior transactions which lead to a well-defined payoff…. Payoffs are usually negative feelings such as fear, anger, sadness, inadequacy, etc…. Psychological games are similar to card games. It takes two or more to play (unless it’s solitaire, and some people do play internal games-between their Parent and Child ego states-in their heads). All games have a beginning which is the initial stimulus, a set of rules and expected “plays” and a conclusion. People tend to have favourite games that they play over and over again” Muriel James and Contributors, Techniques in Transactional Analysis, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, pg 15


Also psychiatrist R. D. Laing in his “Knots” (I have it edited by Vintage Books) describes some games, e.g.:


“They are playing a game. They are playing at not
playing a game. If I show them I see they are, I
shall break the rules and they will punish me.
I must play there game, of not seeing I see the game.”


It seems that games have been mostly considered to happen between two or more individuals or between parts (parent, adult, child of transactional analysis) of individuals.


Esotericism gives us the possibility to analyze games between different personalities (or sub-personalities) residing or not in the same individual. This simplifies everything: even psychoanalysis conflicts could be now considered as inner “games” between inner “personalities”.


Does your painting “the Mother” describe:
the relationship between two individuals?
or the relationship between the inner parent and the inner child (transactional analysis)?
Probably both. The relationship between mother and daughter has been “interiorized” becoming an inner game. This major game goes on in the inside of the individual as a source of many possible sub-games between the many “personalities” of mother and daughter.


At this point, I still miss something. You have made clearer the relationship between personalities and games, but I have another question. I would like to investigate “how games between personalities are determined by forces”.


I really would like you or a visitor of your site could give an answer to this question.

Luis Pisoni