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In 1973, After extensive research around stroking patterns of people and what they meant, I invented the McKenna Stroking Profile. This tool measures eight stroking behaviors. When people are free to GIVE, TAKE, ASK FOR, and SAY NO (Refuse to Give), they are capable of healthy relationships. For details of the Stroking Profile, you can refer to my book "I Feel More Like I Do Now Than When I First Came In."

The four orange bars on my logo represent the GIVING, TAKING, ASKING FOR, AND REFUSING stroking options. People can be rated from "0 to 10" (Never to Always) on the top scales (Positive Stroking behaviors). The bottom options are the negative stroking patterns on each item. Research demonstrated that there is an inverse relationship between positive and negative stroking behaviors. On each bar item, if one is high on the top, (s)he will be low on the bottom. The logo shows a "6" (Frequently) on positive Giving, Taking, Ask For, and saying "No" to giving positive strokes to others. The bottom scores are "4" (Often), indicating freedom to Give, Take, Ask For, and Refuse to Give negative strokes to others.

In 1984, the University of Miami published the results of their ten year study of the McKenna Stroking Profile. They developed in collaboration with myself the Behavioral Exchange Inventory (B.E.I.), which is a validated instrument to obtain an objective stroking profile. In 1995, I developed software called "Your Stroking Profile" Software (DOS version). This integrates both the subjective Stroking Profile and the objective BEI. It then will print out a report with recommendations and an action plan.

The Three outer circles represent the major parts of an integrated personality. Thinking, Feeling, and Beliefs serve to integrate and balance each others when people are healthy. The center circle represents the Self, the unique integrating factor the brings thoughts, feelings, and beliefs together. When a person is "centered" as represented in this diagram, (s)he is simultaneously in touch with his or her major parts. In 1978, I wrote a Self-Effectiveness Training Primer and first introduced these circles as an alternative to Eric Berne's three stacked circles used to diagram transactions in Transactional Analysis. The grouped circles seemed to me to be a better way to diagram the structure of personality.