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    Drama triangle

    戏剧三角

    Model
    Also called
    Karpman drama triangle

    The drama triangle is a model from transactional analysis (TA), introduced by Stephen Karpman in a 1968 article, that describes three roles people take on and switch between in conflict.[1][2]

    Jay blames Lin for the delay: Jay is in the Persecutor position, Lin in the Victim position, and Ms. Wang is not yet involved.Lin goes to the manager, and Ms. Wang takes over Lin’s work, stepping into the Rescuer position.A week later, worn out, Ms. Wang criticizes Lin for leaning on others. She has moved from Rescuer to Persecutor: a new corner, but still inside the triangle.

    An alternative: David Emerald’s TED* model proposes a separate triangle of Creator, Challenger and Coach.

    The double-headed arrows mean players switch among the three positions. Select a corner for details, and use the buttons above to replay the example on this page.
    The drama triangle’s three positions, Persecutor, Rescuer and Victim, with double-headed arrows for switching. The buttons replay how the three people in this page’s example move between positions. Select a part for details
    The drama triangle’s three positions, Persecutor, Rescuer and Victim, with double-headed arrows for switching. The buttons replay how the three people in this page’s example move between positions. Save as image (PNG)

    Key points

    • The three roles are Persecutor, Rescuer and Victim. Karpman treats them as positions in an interaction, and players often switch among them.[2]
    • Switching corners is not the same as leaving the triangle: someone who moves from Victim to Persecutor is still inside the drama.[2]
    • The model grew out of TA script analysis and borrows the character roles of fairy tales and family stories.[1][2]
    • David Emerald’s The Empowerment Dynamic (TED*) proposes an alternative triangle of Creator, Challenger and Coach.[3]

    An example

    Jay complains that his colleague Lin is holding up the project. Lin goes to their manager, Ms. Wang, upset, and Ms. Wang takes over Lin’s work. A week later, worn out, Ms. Wang criticizes Lin for always leaning on others: she has moved from Rescuer to Persecutor.

    Misreadings and limits

    The triangle is a descriptive tool for looking at interactions, not a label for people. Karpman says it began as a playful diagram that spread by word of mouth, and his papers rest on case examples and analogy rather than research data.[2]

    Sources

    1. 1 Karpman, S. B. (1968). Fairy tales and script drama analysis. Transactional Analysis Bulletin, 7(26), 39–43. View source
    2. 2 Karpman, S. B. (2019). Script drama analysis II. International Journal of Transactional Analysis Research & Practice, 10(1), 21–39. doi:10.29044/v10i1p21
    3. 3 Emerald, D. (2015). The power of TED* (*The empowerment dynamic) (3rd ed.). Polaris Publishing. View source

    Last checked against sources: October 26, 2026