Interpersonal Relationships and Conflict for RBI Grade B: Transactional Analysis, Johari Window and Conflict Management
Last updated: 2026-11-14 · MockMentor
The syllabus line is "Interpersonal relationships: Transactional Analysis, Johari Window; Conflict: sources, types, management". It brings together two tools for understanding how people relate to each other and a framework for handling disagreement.
Transactional Analysis
Transactional Analysis (TA) was developed by Eric Berne in the late 1950s. A transaction is one unit of social exchange: a stimulus from one person and a response from another.
Ego states. Berne said each of us moves between three ego states:
| Ego state | What it is | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Parent | Attitudes taken in from parents and authority figures; can be nurturing or critical | "You must always...", "Let me help you" |
| Adult | Rational, fact-based processing of the present | "What does the data show?" |
| Child | Feelings and impulses from childhood; can be free, adapted or rebellious | "Wow!", "It's not fair" |
Types of transactions.
- Complementary: the response comes from the ego state the sender addressed (Adult to Adult). Communication can continue.
- Crossed: the response comes from an unexpected ego state. A manager asks "Where is the file?" (Adult) and hears "Why are you always on my back?" (Child). Communication breaks down.
- Ulterior: a hidden message lies under the surface one. These lead to psychological games.
Strokes are units of recognition, positive or negative. Life positions (Thomas Harris popularised them) describe how a person sees self and others: I'm OK, you're OK (the healthy position); I'm OK, you're not OK; I'm not OK, you're OK; I'm not OK, you're not OK.
The Johari Window
The Johari Window, created by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955, maps what is known about a person by the self and by others.
| Known to self | Not known to self | |
|---|---|---|
| Known to others | Open (public) area | Blind area |
| Not known to others | Hidden (facade) area | Unknown area |
The goal is to enlarge the open area. Asking for feedback shrinks the blind area; self-disclosure shrinks the hidden area. A large open area builds trust and makes teams work better.
TA and Johari compared: TA explains the quality of each exchange; the Johari Window explains how much people know about each other. Both aim at more open, adult communication.
Conflict: views and process
Conflict is a process that begins when one party sees that another has hurt, or is about to hurt, something it cares about. Views of conflict have changed:
- Traditional view: all conflict is harmful and must be avoided.
- Human relations view: conflict is natural and should be accepted.
- Interactionist view: some conflict is needed to keep a group creative and self-critical.
Stephen Robbins describes a five-stage conflict process: potential opposition (communication, structure, personal variables), cognition and personalisation, intentions, behaviour, and outcomes.
Sources and types. Conflict arises from scarce resources, unclear roles, different goals, poor communication and personality clashes. It can be intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup or intergroup. Robbins also separates task, relationship and process conflict. Functional conflict improves decisions; dysfunctional conflict hurts performance. Low task conflict is often useful; relationship conflict is almost always harmful.
Managing conflict: the Thomas-Kilmann model
Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann (1974) plotted conflict handling on two axes: assertiveness (satisfying your own concerns) and cooperativeness (satisfying the other side's).
| Mode | Assertive / cooperative | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Competing | High / low | Emergencies, unpopular but necessary decisions |
| Collaborating | High / high | Important issues where both sides' commitment matters |
| Compromising | Moderate / moderate | Equal power, time pressure |
| Avoiding | Low / low | Trivial issues, when tempers need to cool |
| Accommodating | Low / high | When you are wrong, or harmony matters more |
No mode is right every time. Collaborating gives the best long-term results but takes the most time. Negotiation, superordinate goals, expanding resources and changing structure are other techniques.
What the full chapter covers
Our complete chapter also covers life scripts, psychological games and the drama triangle, the uses and limits of TA, the Johari Window in team development, groups and teams, power and organisational politics, and negotiation in detail. Related reading: Communication and the Management syllabus overview.
The full chapter, with chapter-wise MCQs and evaluated descriptive practice, is part of our RBI Grade A/B courses.
More in Management
- Introduction to Management
- Evolution of Management Thought
- Personality & Perception
- Motivation Theories
- Leadership & Emotional Intelligence
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