How to define the profile of your interlocutor in 2 minutes chrono

When you are dealing with someone, there is a method called the EAP to quickly decipher the psychological profile of the person you are dealing with. It's not a method that I'm going to explain in detail - I do not claim it and I recommend reading the book for it - but I'll introduce you to its basics.

This method was developed by a psychologist Eric Berne in the United States in the 60s.

Eric Berne presents in his famous book Games people play ('games and men') the basics of transactional analysis.

This method highlights the existence in each person of 3 states that coexist in our personality.

For Eric Berne, each individual presents a state of the "parent" ego, an "adult" state and a "child" state on a more or less developed level. The balance between these three states determines how we react to different situations and recognizing them in a person makes it possible to adapt to them.

The Parent subdivides into two sub-states: the normative parent and the foster parent.

The normative parent is the one who reacts to a situation with "must ...", "we must ...", "in principle ...". He is the manifestation of order and rigor.

The "nurturing" or "protective" parent is one who causes some individuals to naturally take care of others. It is Father Pierre who has been so busy with others, but he is also your best friend, the one who always calls everyone to know how people are doing.

Then comes the adult. The adult behavior, pushed to the extreme is a computer: it is the rational calculation, the expression of the cold blood, the capacity to think rationally in the situations.

The child is subdivided into 3 states: The rebellious child, the submissive child and the spontaneous child.

The submissive child is the one who seeks approval, validation, consensus. It is the behavior that will make that motorists are not going to do something contrary to the rules of the road. It takes to live in society.

The spontaneous child is the one who drives people to do crazy things, chatting in class because that's the way it is. He's chirping all the time. He speaks too loudly to everyone and all the time. He jumps everywhere, it is the little child who sleeps in each of us.

Finally, the rebellious child is the rebel: it is this part that pushes you to make the fingers of honor in the car to another motorist, to send all walks and "farting cables" sometimes beneficial.

All states cohabit within the same person
Psychological profiles are established according to the degrees of PAE (Parent Adult Child).

A person can see his EAP evolve as time goes by according to his experience, his interactions with the environment in which he evolves.

Transactional analysis is always very useful in sales situations where you must quickly identify your interlocutor to play on his sensitive chords.

This method is not perfect and I recommend reading this book - which I read a few years ago in Spanish. Do not ask me why in Spanish.