Introjection
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In
It has been associated with both normal andTheory
Introjection is a concept rooted in the psychoanalytic theories of unconscious motivations.[1] Unconscious motivation refers to processes in the mind which occur automatically and bypass conscious examination and considerations.[3]
Introjection is the learning process or in some cases a defense mechanism where a person unconsciously absorbs experiences and makes them part of their psyche.[1]
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In learning
In psychoanalysis, introjection (German: Introjektion) refers to an unconscious process wherein one takes components of another person's identity, such as feelings, experiences and cognitive functioning,[4] and transfers them inside themselves, making such experiences part of their new psychic structure.[5] These components are obliterated from consciousness (splitting), perceived in someone else (projection),[6] and then experienced and performed (i.e., introjected) by that other person.[4] Cognate concepts are identification, incorporation[7] and internalization.
As a defense mechanism
It is considered a self-stabilizing
Another straightforward illustration could be a youngster who is being bullied at school. Unknowingly adopting the bully's behavior, the victim youngster may do so to stop being picked on in the future.[9]
Projection has been described as an early phase of introjection.[10]
Historic precursors
Freud and Klein
In Freudian terms, introjection is the aspect of the ego's system of relational mechanisms which handles checks and balances from a perspective external to what one normally considers 'oneself', infolding these inputs into the internal world of the self-definitions, where they can be weighed and balanced against one's various senses of externality. For example:
- "When a child envelops representational images of his absent parents into himself, simultaneously fusing them with his own personality."
- "Individuals with weak ego boundaries are more prone to use introjection as a defense mechanism."
According to
According to Freud, the
Torok and Ferenczi
However, the aforementioned description of introjection has been challenged by
Fritz and Laura Perls
In Gestalt therapy, the concept of "introjection" is not identical with the psychoanalytical concept. Central to Fritz and Laura Perls' modifications was the concept of "dental or oral aggression", when the infant develops teeth and is able to chew. They set "introjection" against "assimilation". In Ego, Hunger and Aggression,[14] Fritz and Laura Perls suggested that when the infant develops teeth, he or she has the capacity to chew, to break apart food, and assimilate it, in contrast to swallowing before; and by analogy to experience, to taste, accept, reject or assimilate. Laura Perls explains: "I think Freud said that development takes place through introjection, but if it remains introjection and goes no further, then it becomes a block; it becomes identification. Introjection is to a great extent unawares."[15]
Thus Fritz and Laura Perls made "assimilation", as opposed to "introjection", a focal theme in Gestalt therapy and in their work, and the prime means by which growth occurs in therapy. In contrast to the psychoanalytic stance, in which the "patient" introjects the (presumably more healthy) interpretations of the analyst, in Gestalt therapy the client must "taste" with awareness their experience, and either accept or reject it, but not introject or "swallow whole". Hence, the emphasis is on avoiding interpretation, and instead encouraging discovery. This is the key point in the divergence of Gestalt therapy from traditional psychoanalysis: growth occurs through gradual assimilation of experience in a natural way, rather than by accepting the interpretations of the analyst.
See also
References
- ^ S2CID 220278667.
- ^ a b "The American Psychological Association Dictionary of Psychology". www.apa.org. American Psychological Association. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
a process in which an individual unconsciously incorporates... the attitudes, values, and qualities of another person or a part of another person's personality. Introjection may occur, for example, in the mourning process for a loved one.
- S2CID 207080.
- ^ ISSN 1086-3303.
- S2CID 220278667.
- S2CID 19730486.
- ^ A form of taking the outside world into the inner world, being focused on bodily sensation.
- ^ ISBN 9780429918513.
- ^ "Introjection, Internalization, Identification, Oh My!". Therapist Development Center. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
- S2CID 19730486.
- ^ "Winnicott, D.W. Home is Where We Start From: Essays by a Psychoanalyst. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1986. 50.
- ^ ISBN 052128385X.
- ^ Jacques Derrida, "Foreword", Nicolas Abraham/Maria Torok, The Wolf Man's Secret Word (1986) p. xvii and p. 119n
- ISBN 0-939266-18-0
- ^ Wysong, J./Rosenfeld, E.(eds.): An oral history of Gestalt therapy. Interviews with Laura Perls, Isadore From, Erving Polster, Miriam Polster, Highland, N.Y. 1982, p. 6.