The assessment of the ego states

The hypothesis that ego states, as defined in Transactional Analysis, are distinct and identifiable phenomena was tested. Ten TA therapists were asked to assess which of the three ego states, Parent, Adult or Child, were present in forty statements extracted from the tape of a family therapy session. The level of agreement reached was statistically highly significant. There was a certain amount of interrater variability, and potential sources of disagreement are discussed.