Eric Berne Games People Play He describes three roles or ego states, known as the Parent, the Adult, and the Child, and postulates that many negative behaviors can be traced to switching or confusion of these roles. He discusses procedures, rituals, and pastimes in social behavior, in light of this method of analysis. For example, a boss who talks to his staff as a controlling ‘parent’ will often engender self-abased obedience, tantrums, or other childlike responses from his employees. One of the things I found most interesting is that the classification has two dimensions. First, there’s the game itself. Second, there’s the question of how seriously you’re playing: he divides this into First Degree, Second Degree and Third Degree. First Degree is just playing for fun. Second Degree means people’s feelings can be badly hurt. Third Degree means that the game ends up “in the courts, the hospital or the morgue.” Source: https://www.e-kitapstore.com/en/eric-berne-games-people-play/