The “stroking profile” concept was introduced for the first time by Jim McKenna in the Transactional Analysis Journal (October 1974). It analyzes stroking patterns by use of bar charts.

1. Stroking Profile

2. Prepared By
Manu Melwin Joy
Research Scholar
School of Management Studies
CUSAT, Kerala, India.
Phone – 9744551114
Mail – manu_melwinjoy@yahoo.com
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Please seek permission to reproduce the same in public
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3. Stroking Profile
• The “stroking profile” concept was
introduced for the first time by Jim
McKenna in the Transactional
Analysis Journal (October 1974).
• It analyzes stroking patterns in
rather the same way as Dusay’s
ego gram analyzes the use of
functional ego states, by use of bar
charts.

4. Why it is useful?
• Most of us carry around a series of
repetitive unconscious patterns that
we use quite often.
• Since strokes are fundamentally
involved (directly or indirectly) in
everything we do, it can be of great
help to become aware of our stroking
profile and think about what (if
anything) we’d like to change about it
and in what direction.

5. Why it is useful?
• Maybe some people complete the
table and realize that they have
difficulties in giving strokes, yet they
feel the desire to stroke other people
often and to be more in contact with
those around.
• By becoming aware of this, they can
make a small conscious effort to
gradually offer more strokes, thus
being more in contact.

6. Why it is useful?
• Some people might not understand why
they receive so many negative strokes and
realize that they’ve been constantly asking
for them on an unconscious level.
• That may be because this kind of strokes
are familiar to them and they know how
to react, whereas receiving positive
strokes makes them feel extremely
uncomfortable.
• It could also be for a number of other
reasons.

8. Stroking Profile
• To make out a stroking profile, you
begin with a blank diagram given
in the previous slide.
• You draw bars in each of the four
columns to represent your
intuitive estimate of how
frequently you : give strokes, take
them when they are offered, ask
for strokes and refuse to give
strokes.

9. Stroking Profile
• You make separate estimates
under each heading for
positive and negative strokes.
• The frequency for positives is
shown by drawing a bar
upward from the central axis
of the diagram.
• For negatives, draw bar
downwards.

10. Stroking Profile

11. • This diagram shows one
possible example of a
completed stroking
profile.
• This person doesn’t give
many positive strokes
but is liberal with
negatives.
• She is keen to take
positive strokes from
others and often ask for
them.
Reference : Transactional Analysis Journal, October 1974, Jim McKenna
Example

12. • She perceives herself as
seldom taking or asking
for negatives.
• Frequently, she refuses
to give positive strokes
that other people
expect, but she is not so
ready to refuse giving
negatives.
• How would you feel
about relating to the
person who drew this
stroking profile.
Example

13. • Jim McKenna suggests that the
negative and positive scales under
each heading show an inverse
relationship.
• For instance, if a person is low in
taking positive strokes, he will
likely be high is taking negatives.
• Discover any pattern in your stroke
profile.
• Try to increase the bar you want
more.
Inverse Relationship

14. • Discover if there is anything about
your stroking profile that you want
to change.
• If so, the way to proceed is to
increase the bars you want more
of.
• This, says McKenna, is more likely
to work than aiming to reduce the
bars you think you have too much
of.
• In Child, you are likely to be
unwilling to give up old stroking
patterns until you have something
better to replace them.
Activity

15. Activity
• Draw you own stroking profile.
• Work rapidly and intuitively.
• Under asking for strokes, in the
negative column, include times
when you set up in some indirect
way to get attention from others
and was painful or uncomfortable
for you.
• In the negative column under
refuse to give, include occasions
when you refused to give others
negatives which they were setting
up indirectly to get from you.

16. Home work
• Write down five behavior designed
to increase any bar you want more
of.
• Carry out these behavior in the
coming month.
• For instance, if you decide you want
to give more positive strokes to
others, you might note down one
compliment you could genuinely
give to each of five of your friends,
but have never given.
• Go ahead and give those
compliments during the month.

17. Food for thought
Is McKenna right in
suggesting that as you
increase the bar you
want more of, the bar
you want less of in the
same column decreases
automatically?

18. Implications
• In a way, needing strokes is the same
with needing people to acknowledge
that we exist.
• From this point of view, the
philosophical question about the tree
falling in the forest with nobody around
to hear the noise fits well.
• If nobody hears the noise, did it really
ever exist?
• If a person is not being stroked, is that
person’s existence real?

19. Thank You

20. Other TA topics available on slideshare
1. Strokes - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/strokes-24081607.
2. Games People Play - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/psychological-
games-people-play.
3. Structural Analysis - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/the-ego-state-model.
4. What is TA? - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/what-ta-is
5. Cycles of Development - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/cycles-of-
developement-pamela-levin-transactional-analysis.
6. Stages of Cure - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/stages-of-cure.
7. Transactions - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/transactions-33677298.
8. Time Structuring - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/time-structuring.
9. Life Position - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/life-position.
10. Autonomy - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/autonomy-33690557.
11. Structural Pathology - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/structural-pathology.
12. Game Analysis - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/game-analysis-33725636.
13. Integrated Adult - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/integrated-adult.
14. Stroke Economy - http://www.slideshare.net/manumjoy/stroke-economy-
33826702.