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People believe that in this model of relationships, individuals assume the roles of victim, persecutor, or rescuer, and use them to manipulate each other. However, scientists view this theory skeptically despite its widespread adoption.
What is the Karpman triangle?
American psychiatrist Stephen Karpman described this model of relationships in 1968 and it was named after him. However, Karpman himself prefers the term “dramatic triangle.”
Karpman observed that in most life situations, individuals unconsciously assume certain roles. The person seeking support and protection is referred to as the victim in Karpman’s terminology, while the person who attacks and exhibits aggression is known as the persecutor. The individual who persistently defends the victim and opposes the persecutor is identified as the rescuer.
The psychiatrist claims that relationships of all kinds, including family, romantic, friendly, and work, can be built according to this model. In a family, for example, parents and a child play specific roles. If a child-victim complains about struggling with homework and being unable to prepare for school independently, a strict parent-persecutor may criticize and punish them. However, the second parent-rescuer may feel pity and offer help with assignments.
Karpman’s theory suggests that breaking the vicious triangle is very difficult because the roles are actually beneficial to the participants, especially the victim. By demonstrating helplessness, the victim unconsciously forces others to adapt and take on the other two roles – persecutor and rescuer.
In reality, the victim in the Karpman triangle is not as defenseless as it appears. By playing their role, they supposedly manipulate others, evade responsibility, and shift the burden of decision-making for their problems onto others. Karpman argues that if there are no willing persecutors or rescuers in the victim’s surroundings, they will simply alter their social circle and still involve someone in the psychological game.
The persecutor also benefits from the triangle. By accusing and persecuting the victim, they feel significant and superior to the victim. Meanwhile, the rescuer enhances their self-esteem and earns the approval of others by becoming necessary and aiding the victim.
Karpman notes that individuals in the triangle often shift roles, sometimes multiple times during a single conversation, depending on the circumstances.
He employs the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” to illustrate this point. Initially, Little Red Riding Hood plays the role of rescuer by bringing pies to her grandmother. However, upon meeting the wolf, she becomes the victim. As soon as the woodcutters come to her aid, she transitions to the role of persecutor. Interestingly, Karpman attributes people’s tendency to become entangled in the dramatic triangle to parents who read fairy tales to their children. According to Karpman, many individuals internalize the corresponding roles as children by imitating the characters, which they continue to act out throughout their lives.
Stephen Karpman proposes utilizing triangles, such as the “triangle of empathy” exercise, to address conflicts.
To perform this technique, one must continually question themselves, asking, “What roles is my opponent playing? What roles am I playing myself? Who am I? Am I the victim cornered in the triangle? Or perhaps I am the rescuer or the persecutor?”
Once an individual can view the situation from an outsider’s perspective, Karpman recommends showing compassion toward those entangled in the dramatic triangle.
Why the Drama Triangle is Popular
Psychologists and advisors, including family and friends, employ the Karpman Drama Triangle to analyze conflicts and contradictions. Indeed, adherents of the theory apply it to nearly any situation.
For example, a partner upset about being ignored, a neighbor requesting that the music be turned down, or a colleague complaining about being overworked can all be interpreted by proponents of the theory as manipulative behavior by the victim in the Karpman Triangle. Consequently, they can opt for the simplest solution to the issue, which is to avoid assuming responsibility for the grievances or expending resources to aid.
Moreover, the Karpman Triangle reinforces hazardous cognitive distortions, such as the belief in a just world. As a result, people tend to assume that the universe has certain laws that enable everyone to receive what they deserve. If a person complains about their life, it is only because they do not want to make enough effort to improve it. The Karpman Triangle strengthens the notion of the victim as the culprit and even the beneficiary in any difficult circumstance.
What’s wrong with the Karpman Triangle?
The existence of the dramatic triangle has not been scientifically proven
Steven Karpman conceived the notion of the triangle during a brainstorming session. He observed the positions of players during sports games and surmised that people interact with each other in a similar psychological manner during games. Nevertheless, the psychiatrist did not validate his hypothesis by conducting any experiments. In his articles and book, he primarily relied on fictional examples, such as fairy tales.
Furthermore, Karpman’s adherents could not substantiate the existence of the phenomenon of the dramatic triangle. Currently, there is no research that confirms the existence of such a relationship model.
American scientists conducted a survey among 326 volunteers to prove that people interact according to Karpman’s scheme, which divides them into victims, persecutors, and rescuers. The volunteers were asked to choose the statements that were closest to them, such as “I feel like I can’t do anything right,” “I drop everything to help others,” and “everyone around me is incompetent and weak.” However, the study only confirmed the existence of different personality traits and not whether their owners necessarily behave in a certain way during communication and create the Karpman triangle.
A review of scientific articles dedicated to the dramatic triangle mentions only one study that allegedly proved the existence of the phenomenon. In 1984, the authors invited 90 people to perform tasks in the laboratory and offered them more work after they had completed them. At that time, a scientist played either the role of a victim or a persecutor.
As expected, most of the subjects agreed to the victim’s pitiful plea rather than the persecutor’s harsh demand. However, the experiment was conducted with methodological errors – without a control group – and can only be considered a confirmation of the theory with a great stretch of the imagination.
The Karpman Triangle contributes to victim blaming – accusing the victim
According to Stephen Karpman’s concept, the victim plays a significant role in forming a model of dysfunctional relationships. However, Karpman does not provide clear criteria for distinguishing between someone who is genuinely in a difficult situation or has suffered from violence and someone who is playing the victim role in the triangle. Therefore, this theory can make it easy to accuse someone in trouble of actually benefiting from their situation.
The theory does not offer an effective solution to the problems
Karpman explains in detail the position of each participant in the triangle, but he does not provide effective ways to escape it. His advice mainly focuses on avoiding engagement in the victim’s manipulations and openly discussing problems.
Therefore, it is better to view the Karpman Triangle as a metaphor rather than a solution to the question of why difficulties arise in relationships.
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