I'M Ok Your Ok
Benjamin P. Welch
Mr. Barnard
Psychology 200
December 1, 2004
A simple summary of I'm Ok-You're Ok will not give the needed credit that the book and its author deserve. It is a book that one must read to fully or even partially understand it's meaning and the author's viewpoint of transactional analysis. The author, Thomas A. Harris M.D., explains in this book the vast amount of experiences that affect the way we live our life from the moment we are born to the second we die. He explains the different feelings a child experiences from being taken cared of and attended to and vice versa. These feelings are described as "I'm not ok-you're not ok, I'm not ok-you're ok, I'm ok-you're ok, and I'm ok-you're not ok." The author explains how the interactions between a parent and a child help develop each of these feelings and tells how each one is either healthy or unhealthy. The book talks about the way every human has an "Adult, Parent and a Child" in them all interacting with each other to perform certain task and make everyday decisions. It was amazing to read how certain verbal and physical actions can pinpoint which of the three we are using to perform whatever tasks we are doing. This book is a great guideline to understanding one's own interpersonal behavior and understanding how to find and keep the "I'm ok-you're ok" attitude in life. Human development has always puzzled me in that I just don't understand why everybody is completely different. No two people are alike in their ways of thinking, acting, or even dealing with everyday stress. I still don't understand all of human development but after reading this book I do understand a great deal more about it. I did not realize that the development of a person's personality starts from the earliest moments of life. It starts to develop when his or her mother or father holds them for the first time and it and it doesn't stop developing and can always change. As I have grown up, I have
Mr. Barnard
Psychology 200
December 1, 2004
A simple summary of I'm Ok-You're Ok will not give the needed credit that the book and its author deserve. It is a book that one must read to fully or even partially understand it's meaning and the author's viewpoint of transactional analysis. The author, Thomas A. Harris M.D., explains in this book the vast amount of experiences that affect the way we live our life from the moment we are born to the second we die. He explains the different feelings a child experiences from being taken cared of and attended to and vice versa. These feelings are described as "I'm not ok-you're not ok, I'm not ok-you're ok, I'm ok-you're ok, and I'm ok-you're not ok." The author explains how the interactions between a parent and a child help develop each of these feelings and tells how each one is either healthy or unhealthy. The book talks about the way every human has an "Adult, Parent and a Child" in them all interacting with each other to perform certain task and make everyday decisions. It was amazing to read how certain verbal and physical actions can pinpoint which of the three we are using to perform whatever tasks we are doing. This book is a great guideline to understanding one's own interpersonal behavior and understanding how to find and keep the "I'm ok-you're ok" attitude in life. Human development has always puzzled me in that I just don't understand why everybody is completely different. No two people are alike in their ways of thinking, acting, or even dealing with everyday stress. I still don't understand all of human development but after reading this book I do understand a great deal more about it. I did not realize that the development of a person's personality starts from the earliest moments of life. It starts to develop when his or her mother or father holds them for the first time and it and it doesn't stop developing and can always change. As I have grown up, I have