Eric Berne (May 10, 1910 - July 15, 1970) was a Canadian-born psychiatrist who created the theory of transactional analysis as a way of explaining human behaviour.
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 patient's personalities. Berne believed that insight could be better discovered by analysing patients' social transactions. Berne was the first psychiatrist to apply game theory to the field of psychiatry.
