thumb|Drama triangle proposed by the psychiatrist Stephen B. Karpman
The Karpman drama triangle is a social model of human interaction proposed by San Francisco psychiatrist Stephen B. Karpman in 1968. The triangle maps a type of destructive interaction that can occur among people in conflict. The drama triangle model is a tool used in psychotherapy, specifically transactional analysis. The triangle of actors in the drama are persecutors, victims, and rescuers.
Karpman described how in some cases these roles were not undertaken in an honest manner to resolve the presenting problem, but rather were used fluidly and switched between by the actors in a way that achieved unconscious goals and agendas. The outcome in such cases was that the actors would be left feeling justified and entrenched, but there would often be little or no change to the presenting problem, and other more fundamental problems giving rise to the situation remaining unaddressed.
Use
Through popular usage, and the work of Stephen Karpman and others, Karpman's triangle has been adapted for use in structural analysis and transactional analysis.
Theory
Karpman used triangles to map conflicted or drama-intense relationship transactions. He defined three roles in the conflict; Persecutor, Rescuer (the one up positions) and Victim (one down position). Karpman placed these three roles on an inverted triangle and referred to them as being the three aspects, or faces of drama. These enlisted players take on roles of their own that are not static, and therefore various scenarios can occur. The victim might turn on the rescuer, for example, while the rescuer then switches to persecution.
The reason that the situation persists is that each participant has their (frequently unconscious) psychological wishes/needs met without having to acknowledge the broader dysfunction or harm done in the situation as a whole. Each participant is acting upon their own selfish needs, rather than acting in a genuinely responsible or altruistic manner. Any character might "ordinarily come on like a plaintive victim; it is now clear that the one can switch into the role of Persecutor providing it is 'accidental' and the one apologizes for it".
Each triangle has a "payoff" for those playing it. The "antithesis" of a drama triangle lies in discovering how to deprive the actors of their payoff.
Triangles/triangulation
The theory of triangulation was originally published in 1966 by Murray Bowen as one of eight parts of Bowen's family systems theory. Simply put, when people find themselves in conflict with another person, they will reach out to a third person. The resulting triangle is more comfortable, as it can hold much more tension, because the tension is being shifted around three people instead of two.
Karpman triangle and Eric Berne
In 1968, Stephen Karpman, who had an interest in acting and was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, chose "drama triangle" rather than "conflict triangle" as, here, the Victim in his model is not intended to represent an actual victim, but rather someone feeling or acting like one. Berne, who founded the field of transactional analysis, encouraged Karpman to publish what Berne referred to as "Karpman's triangle". Karpman's article was published in 1968. In 1972, Karpman received the Eric Berne Memorial Scientific Award for the work.
Transactional analysis
Eric Berne, a Canadian-born psychiatrist, created the theory of transactional analysis, in the middle of the 20th century, as a way of explaining human behavior. Berne's theory of transactional analysis was based on the ideas of Freud but was distinctly different. Freudian psychotherapists focused on talk therapy as a way of gaining insight to their patients' personalities. Berne believed that insight could be better discovered by analyzing patients' social transactions.
Games in transactional analysis refers to a series of transactions that is complementary (reciprocal), ulterior, and proceeds towards a predictable outcome. In this context, the Karpman Drama Triangle is a "game".
Games are often characterized by a switch in roles of players towards the end. The number of players may vary. Games in this sense are devices used (often unconsciously) by people to create a circumstance where they can justifiably feel certain resulting feelings (such as anger or superiority) or justifiably take or avoid taking certain actions where their own inner wishes differ from societal expectations. They are always a substitute for a more genuine and full adult emotion and response which would be more appropriate. Three quantitative variables are often useful to consider for games:
: Flexibility: "The ability of the players to change the currency of the game (that is, the tools they use to play it). 'Some games...can be played properly with only one kind of currency, while others, such as exhibitionistic games, are more flexible", so that the focus of power may shift from words, to money, to parts of the body.
: Tenacity: "Some people give up their games easily, others are more persistent", referring to the way people stick to their games and their resistance to breaking away from them.
: Intensity: "Some people play their games in a relaxed way, others are more tense and aggressive. Games so played are known as easy and hard games, respectively".
While transactional analysis is the method for studying interactions between individuals, one researcher postulates that drama-based leaders can instill an organizational culture of drama. Persecutors are more likely to be in leadership positions and a persecutor culture goes hand in hand with cutthroat competition, fear, blaming, manipulation, high turnover and an increased risk of lawsuits. There are also victim cultures which can lead to low morale and low engagement as well as an avoidance of conflict, and rescuer cultures which can be characterized as having a high dependence on the leader, low initiative and low innovation.
Therapeutic models
The Winner's Triangle was published by Acey Choy in 1990 as a therapeutic model for showing patients how to alter social transactions when entering a triangle at any of the three entry points. Choy recommends that anyone feeling like a victim think more in terms of being vulnerable and caring, that anyone cast as a persecutor adopt an assertive posture, and anyone recruited to be a rescuer should react by being "caring".
- Vulnerable – a victim should be encouraged to accept their vulnerability, problem solve, and be more self-aware.
- Assertive – a persecutor should be encouraged to ask for what they want, be assertive, and cultivate self-compassion.
- Caring – a rescuer should be encouraged to show concern and be caring, but not over-reach and problem solve for others.
The Power of TED*, first published in 2009, recommends that the "victim" adopt the alternative role of creator, view the persecutor as a challenger, and enlist a coach instead of a rescuer.
- Creator – victims are encouraged to be outcome-oriented as opposed to problem-oriented and take responsibility for choosing their response to life challenges. They should focus on resolving "dynamic tension" (the difference between current reality and the envisioned goal or outcome) by taking incremental steps toward the outcomes they are trying to achieve.
- Challenger – a victim is encouraged to see a persecutor as a person (or situation) that forces the creator to clarify their needs, and focus on their learning and growth.
- Coach – a rescuer should be encouraged to ask questions that are intended to help the individual to make informed choices. The key difference between a rescuer and a coach is that the coach sees the creator as capable of making choices and of solving their own problems. A coach asks questions that enable the creator to see the possibilities for positive action, and to focus on what they do want instead of what they don't want.