Structural analysis is part of transactional analysis and describes how personality is organized. It asks which ego states are strongly or weakly developed in a person.
Main ego states
- Parent ego state
- Adult ego state
- Child ego state
The model can be refined into nurturing vs controlling parent and free vs adapted child. This helps identify recurring patterns and developmental potential.
Description of the diagram
Text description
Three circles of equal size are stacked vertically. The top circle is halved by a vertical line: on the left “KEL” (controlling parent), on the right “NEL” (nurturing parent). The middle circle is undivided and reads “Er” (adult ego state). The bottom circle is also halved vertically: on the left “AK” (adapted child), on the right “FK” (free child). The diagram shows the subdivision of the three main ego states described in the article.
An egogram can be used for self-reflection and comparison with external feedback.
Description of the diagram
Text description
Bar chart without scale or numbers. Five bars stand on a common baseline, labelled from left to right: “controlling parent”, “nurturing parent”, “adult”, “free child”, “adapted child”. Ordered by height: highest is “adapted child”, then “free child”, “controlling parent” and “nurturing parent”; clearly lowest is “adult” (about half the height of the tallest bar). It is an example of how strongly the individual ego states can be developed in one person.