Product Description

Do you realise you, and all the people you know, play games? All the time? Sexual games, marital games, complex games that you're not even aware of as you go about your usual life? You might play games like 'Alcoholic' or 'The Frigid Woman' at weekends, or perhaps 'Ain't it awful' or 'Kick me' while you're at work. First published in the 1960s and recognized as a classic work of its kind by professionals, the bestselling "Games People Play" is also an accessible and fascinating read. It is a wise, original, witty and very sensible analysis of the games we play in order to live with one another - and with ourselves.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #817 in Books
• Published on: 1973-07-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

About the Author
Dr Berne's other works include 'The Structure and Dynamics of Organisations and Groups' (1963), in which he discussed the application of transactional analysis to group dynamics; 'Principles of Group Treatment' (1966); 'A Layman's Guide to Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis' (1968); and 'What Do Yo Say After You Say Hello?', written shortly before his death in 1970.

Customer Reviews

Timeless Classic
This book is an absolute gem and as relevant today as the day it was written. It is essential reading for anyone involved in human relationships at any level. That is to say all of us apart from the few true hermits. Even to those with no knowledge of psychology, the examples make fascinating reading. You will recognise people you know. You may even recognise yourself.

For the psychologists, amateur and professional, Berne achieves what most present day psychologists still find impossible. He combines Freud's personality structure with the stimulus/response psychology of Pavlov, Skinner and Watson. This is a stroke of pure genius. Even most psychologists fail to see the book in this light.

One reviewer suggests the book lacks structure which astonishes me since Berne offers 3 options for time structuring: -

Individual structuring (fantasy and activity)

Social structuring (operations, procedures, rituals, pastimes, games and intimacy)

Material structuring (commonly called work though technically an activity)

These cover personal understanding (the unitary view), socio-cultural awareness (the group view) and material world (the universal view). These are derived from Kant's categories od unity (one), plurality (some) and totality (all). We each use these categories to make sense of our environment. How much more structure can a person need? In fact, other than one, some and all, what else could there be?

Whilst the game descriptions will be of most interest to non-psychologists, the first few chapters provide the bones that are essential for a deeper understanding. They are hard work, even for psychologists, but well worth the effort.

Very Interesting but not that well written
This is a great book. If you're interested in human behaviour and psychology this is a great book for you to read. The downside to the book is that he trys to use words used in psychology in the book to make it sound better. But it actually does the opposite - makes it sound worse. If you think you can get past all the words that he uses then buy it, if you don't think you can then don't.
But to round up the book is very interesting and has great concepts. I highly recommend it if you think you can get past all the words.

Excellent concepts, poorly written
The concepts behind this book are excellent, and easy to relate to, however the book is written very poorly. It uses too many technical terms and unless you've studied psychology, it's very hard to follow.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, IF you can get past the complex sentences and the extensive usage of technical terminology, otherwise NO if you want an easy to understand bedtime read!