Professional Development


22 - Ulterior transactions
Finally, there are ulterior transactions, which are those in which two messages are sent at the same time, one of which is explicit and the other inferred. For example: "Look, this product may be too expensive for you to buy." At the surface level, it is merely information stated by an Adult in an explicit social transaction addressing themselves to another Adult. In practice, and inferred, it is a provocation, which is to say, "You wouldn't dare buy it" or "I don't think you could afford it." It is a provocation to a Child so that effectively they buy it.The third rule of communication is that the final result of ulterior transactions is determined at a psychological level: what is hidden is most important. In ulterior transactions the fact that the final result is decided at a psychological level means that in that end it will depend on the emotions that the hidden psychological message provokes, which will be the transaction that is transformed or not into crossed or complimentary.