Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships

About the book

In this modern classic, Eric Berne explores the types of games people play in their social interactions. He proves that every association and interaction is based on a game — be it sexuality, marital association, exercise of power in offices by the bosses, or competition between friends. These games lead our lives into certain directions. The book was inspired by Sigmund Freud but Berne established a radically new model of analysis in this book. For instance, for Freud, the understanding of human psychology was possible only through talk therapy. But Games People Play proved that the words people utter do not matter, instead, their practical social interactions reveal their personalities. Berne believes ‘we’re all playing games’ even when ‘we think we are relating to other people.’ The book has contributed to the rise of many new ways of reading the human self as an act, a play, a game, or a performance instead of an authentic and fixed locus of identity.