Nurse faculty members’ ego states: Transactional Analysis Approach Ayla Keçeci a, * , Gülsün Tas ßocak b a Duzce University School of Health, Duzce, Turkey b Istanbul University Florence Nightingale School of Nursing, Turkey article info Article history: Accepted 13 February 2009 Keywords: Communication Nursing student Nursing education Transactional analysis summary This study uses a Transactional Analysis Approach (TA) to investigate communication between faculty and students in nursing education. The research population was comprised of nurse faculty members (N = 33) employed at a school of nursing and students (N = 482) registered at the same school. The research sample was comprised of 26 faculty members and 325 students. Data collection was performed via questionnaires, focus group interviews and observation. Qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive analysis methods, and quantitative data were evaluated using the Mann–Whitney U test and the Pearson moment correlation coefficients technique. Using the Transactional Analysis Approach (TA), faculty members viewed themselves as an Adult and felt they used the Critical Parent ego state the least. Students also perceived that faculty members used the Adult ego state the most and used the Free Child ego state the least. Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction A professional nursing education program is designed to train students in creative problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making (Bevis, 2000; Tas ßocak, 2001). Positive communication be- tween nursing educators and students supports students’ learning and provides them with the opportunity to build necessary inter- personal and team-building skills (Pierson, 2003). Currently, there is only limited research concerning communication between stu- dents and educators in nursing education in Turkey, most of which is primarily focused on the communication process in clinical prac- tice (Bahçecik et al., 1996; Bayık, 1993; Cimete, 1998; Ulupınar, 1998; Yetkin, 1998). Eric Berne’s analytical model, Transactional Analysis (TA), is a humanistic method used in psychology, communication, develop- ment, psychopathology, education and counseling (Akbag ˘, 2000; Akkoyun, 2001; Kayalar, 2004; Shirai, 2006). The TA approach is comprised of the following components: Ego States, Transactions, Strokes, Life Scenario, Life Positions and Time Structures (Ak- koyun, 2001; Berne, 1988; Shirai, 2006; Solomon, 2003; Steiner, 2006). The research used in this study is based on ego states, the most basic concept of TA (Akkoyun, 2001), as described below: Ego states Berne (1988) defined the ego state as consistent feeling and thinking patterns that are associated with a behavioral model. Ego states are examined with two separate models, structural and functional. According to structural analysis, every individual’s personality is separated into three states: Parent, Adult and Child. According to functional analysis, the Parent ego state is separated into the Critical Parent and the Nurturing Parent; the Child ego state into the Free Child and the Adapted Child; and the Adult ego state remains the same (Akbag ˘, 2000; Akkoyun, 2001; Drego, 2006; Solomon, 2003). The Critical Parent is the thoughts, feelings and beliefs that are learned from parents or parental figures (Solo- mon, 2003). The Nurturing Parent is protecting and guarding (Ak- koyun, 2001). The Free Child takes care of a person’s physical needs, is spontaneous, does whatever he/she feels like doing, is ac- tive, creative, and is the uneducated side of a personality (Akbag ˘, 2000; Akkoyun, 2001; Dökmen, 2004). The Adapted Child is the part of the personality that develops from parental messages that are learned while growing up (Solomon, 2003). According to the TA approach, the communication process is comprised of transactions that contain a warning or response be- tween individual ego states (Berne, 1988). Specifically, there are three types of transactions: parallel, crossed and hidden. These types of transactions are determined according to the ego states that manifest in the communication process (Akkoyun, 2001; Berne, 1988). A parallel transaction occurs when an individual sends a message from any ego state to another person, and that other person gives an answer from the targeted ego state (Berne, 1988; Boholst, 2002). A crossed transaction occurs when a person sends a message from any ego state to another person, but the other person responds from an ego state other than the one being targeted (Akkoyun, 2001; Berne, 1988). In hidden transactions, only one of the two people communicate, or both people take action from two different ego states, and in turn send two 0260-6917/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2009.02.013 * Corresponding author. Address: Duzce Universitesi Saglık Yuksekokulu, Kon- uralp Yerleskesi, Duzce, Turkey. Tel.: +90 380 542 11 41. E-mail address: aylakececi@duzce.edu.tr (A. Keçeci). Nurse Education Today 29 (2009) 746–752 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Nurse Education Today journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/nedt