Which ego state
is most active in you?

Does any of this sound like you?

• A voice in you sounds exactly like a parent — "you should," "that's wrong."
• Sometimes you react like a small kid — delighted, or sulking, or scared.
• And sometimes you can just look at what's happening and decide clearly.
• Under stress, one of these tends to take over.
• You catch yourself using your parent's exact words.
• Or you feel five years old in a grown-up situation.

Those are your three ego states — Parent, Adult, Child — and one of them usually runs the room.

What are "ego states"?

Eric Berne described three consistent ways of being that we shift between:

None is bad. Trouble starts when the Parent or the Child takes the chair in a moment that needed the Adult — and the Adult never gets to speak.

Here's how it actually plays out

A dominant Parent tends to instruct, judge, and care-take — strong on standards, short on flexibility. A dominant Child brings spontaneity and feeling, but can flood or shrink under pressure. A strong Adult can hold both, and choose. Most conflict is two Children, or two Parents, talking past each other.

What this test will show you

• Which ego state most often takes the chair
• Its strengths, and where it gets in your way
• How to give your Adult more of the floor