Drama triangle
The drama triangle describes a fundamental relationship pattern that has long been handed down in many fairy tales and heroic sagas between at least two people, who take on the three roles of victim, perpetrator or persecutor, and savior. The model of the drama triangle describes how these roles are related and how they are often changed in turn.
History of the model
The drama triangle is a psychological and social model from transactional analysis that was first described by Stephen Karpman . Human behavior patterns that follow comprehensible, uncovered rules and that can be very serious for those affected are called " games " in transaction analysis .
Persecutor, victim and savior
The "drama triangle" describes a relationship pattern between at least two people who take on the three roles:
- Victim
- Perpetrator or persecutor
- savior
There are “rules” of role expectation between the players , which the role bearer involuntarily follows when choosing a role. The participants take on these roles out of the inner necessity of the pattern, they "play" these roles (they "are" not the roles).
The patterns of the drama triangle pair or compete at the same time with the personal patterns of those involved. The patterns can in part (at least to a certain extent) also be “used” in a targeted manipulative manner (for example in politics, advertising and in family feuds).
Role change in the triangle
In the drama triangle there is no fixed beginning or entry, and no fixed end either. The positions taken can change again just as quickly. During the course of this pattern, there may be sudden role changes:
If, for example, two people fight each other and one is defeated, ie is a “victim”, then the other can be seen as a “perpetrator”. A neighbor can act as a “savior” to the alleged victim and turn against the perpetrator. If, for example, the “victim” shows solidarity with the original “perpetrator” (again) and claims that it was all just “fun” and that the neighbor interfered undesirably and is even guilty of the escalation, the “rescuer” can now go to Become the “perpetrator” and the original “perpetrator” becomes the “victim”.
The positions are swapped: the former victim now becomes the “perpetrator” together with the former perpetrator against the neighbor, who now finds himself in the role of victim. Most of the time he will not want to let that sit on him and in turn become the "perpetrator" - even if he yells at the dog at home.
The parties
Usually the three roles are divided between three people. But even two people can alternately distribute the three roles among themselves. The drama triangle can also be played alone. Then individual personality aspects take on the three roles in an internal dialogue .
Meaning of the drama triangle
The drama triangle describes a basic pattern of human action / reaction and the associated behaviors. It is used to regulate proximity and distance. This is true on a large scale (war and peace) as well as on a small scale (children's play and everyday relationships). As a rescuer and victim one is often close, one keeps away from the perpetrator, and is very close to him in other ways at the same time.
There are also analytical, addictive, behavioral, systemic and developmental explanations for this pattern. It can be seen from all approaches that the drama triangle is an immature, often dysfunctional relationship pattern with far-reaching consequences. Entanglements due to these unconscious strategies can span generations. There are historical and current examples of the effect of such dramas, which continues to this day .
Effects
Particularly dramatic effects can be found in realizing the roles of the drama triangle in judicial or political situations with conviction or death. Even in situations of abuse ( abuse of power , sexual abuse ) and their processing, the drama triangle often has an independent function.
There are also dramatic examples in global politics; For example, the proxy wars in the Cold War between East and West or the clashes in the Middle East : Here the Soviet Union and the USA changed the roles of perpetrator, victim and rescuer in relation to the Arab peoples for decades.
Positive behavior
The awareness of these patterns is an important contribution to the positive behavior modification referred to the exit from this self-running circuit.
According to the theory, an incipient drama triangle can only be stopped by the opposite behavior: The victim should learn to use perpetrator energy to act against the perpetrator and e.g. B. to say “stop” loudly and clearly.
The perpetrator thus becomes a "victim".
When viewed critically, the behavior of a helper can also be “too much” if the victim is given more support than is really needed, or if helpers are sometimes almost imposing. According to the drama triangle theory, the alleged victim should mirror the helper's own helper "energy", e.g. B. by the counter question: “And how are you (as a helper) personally?” An effective helper, in the sense of a mature and cooperative behavior, will “only” help the victim to help himself. If necessary, he will also take the victim out of the “line of fire”, but only ever give him help until the person can help himself again.
Belongs to a successful management of a real victim-offender experience that the perpetrators his act repent and atone for the victim to the perpetrator forgives and both perpetrator and victim to the rescuer to thank . Only then do all those involved effectively free themselves from their roles. See also : Psychotraumatology .
Drama triangle as an exercise
The three roles can also be played consciously as an exercise in self-awareness , for example to learn more about mutual dependencies and one's own behavior in such roles and patterns. Techniques such as doubling , changing roles or mirroring can be used from the psychodrama process . In conflict management, participants can draw conclusions about past behavior in conflict situations and, if necessary, develop new options for action.
In this way, even people with a solidified victim attitude can recognize which parts of their behavior in the past have led them to remain in the victim position and what they can do to prevent being victims (or perpetrators, or "helpless helpers") again. to become.
At the same time, professional helpers can reflect on their own helper syndrome . In the training of pedagogues or therapists and in supervision , the drama triangle can be used in specific case work to reveal where helpers keep their clients underage or run the risk of being involved in corresponding perpetrator-victim-helper structures.
literature
- Stephen Karpman (1968): Fairy tales and script drama analysis. In: Transactional Analysis Bulletin 7 (26), pp. 39-43
- Leonhard Schlegel: Concise dictionary of transaction analysis. All terms of TA explained in a practical way. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1993, 2nd edition 2002, pp. 44f.