The purpose of this paper is to compare Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis to the ego state of psychodynamic theory by Sigmund Freud. First of all, Freud suggests three ego states of human psyche: Id, ego, and super-ego. Each state is very similar to Berne’s three alter ego states in Transactional Analysis: Parent, Adult and Child. Second, both Berne and Freud suggest that three ego states of each individual develop in serial order and each person with harmonious composition of these states is diagnosed with psychologically health. Third, Freud makes a hypothesis based on human unconsciousness while Berne focuses on observable conscious behavior in Transactional Analysis. Next, Freud’s study focuses on the past, so he strongly thinks it is difficult to change personal attributes, which are developed in early childhood. On the other hand, Berne’s study is based on current social interaction, so he firmly promotes change in consciousness, behavior modification and forecasting the future. Moreover, Freud suggests that there is no obvious boundary line between Id, ego, and super-ego, but these three states are highly related. On the contrary to Freud, Berne proposes that the three ego states in Transactional Analysis indicate three different characteristics, which are independent and unaffiliated. Lastly, the ego state model in Transactional Analysis is an examination tool rather than a theoretical composition.
Key words : Transactional Analysis, Psychodynamic theory, The ego state model