{"id":17241,"date":"2013-03-19T15:36:39","date_gmt":"2013-03-19T22:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?page_id=17241"},"modified":"2015-10-06T14:12:38","modified_gmt":"2015-10-06T21:12:38","slug":"introjection","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/introjection\/","title":{"rendered":"Introjection"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Reflection<\/strong><\/span>Introjection,<\/strong>\u00a0one of many defense mechanisms<\/a> posited by Sigmund Freud<\/a>, occurs when a person internalizes the ideas or voices of other people. This behavior is\u00a0commonly associated with the internalization of external authority, particularly that of parents.<\/p>\n

What Is Introjection?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Introjection is the opposite of projection<\/a>. Projection occurs when a person projects feelings or characteristics onto another person. Introjection, which is common among children and parents,\u00a0occurs when\u00a0a person internalizes the beliefs of other people. A child might take on elements of parents’ personalities<\/a> or beliefs by adopting their political ideology, concept of right and wrong, or ideas about sex. When people introject, they identify with a person or object so strongly that they cannot separate that person or object from themselves.<\/p>\n

\n\t

Find a Therapist<\/a><\/h2>\n\t
\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\tAdvanced Search<\/a>\n\t<\/form>\n<\/div>While everyone learns from the external world and takes on elements of other people’s beliefs and ideas, introjection occurs with minimal thought. A woman who adopts her friends’ views, after they have been carefully explained and considered, is not introjecting, but a child who reflexively adopts a\u00a0parent’s views without thought can be said to be\u00a0introjecting.<\/p>\n

Introjections involve attitudes, behaviors, emotions, and perceptions that\u00a0are\u00a0usually obtained from influential or authoritative people\u00a0in one’s life. They\u00a0are neither digested nor analyzed; they are simply adopted as a part of one’s\u00a0personality as concepts that one considers should be believed or behaviors that one thinks ought to be followed. Introjections do not involve an individual\u2019s personal integrity or morality.<\/p>\n

How the Environment Affects Introjection<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A person may absorb the characteristics or attitudes of subjects in the immediate surroundings. While caregivers are usually the first people\u00a0whose attitudes a young child may adopt, the moral code and behaviors of teachers and peers may also significantly influence a child\u2019s value system. These influences may conflict with the values that caregivers wish to promote, and they may be particularly strong in the period before the child learns to self-govern and develop individual beliefs and personality. For example, a\u00a0boy who is usually\u00a0cheerful at home may begin to kick his dog and pick on his younger sister after experiencing bullying<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0school.<\/p>\n

Introjection as a Defense Mechanism<\/h2>\n

Freud characterized introjection as a mature defense mechanism that is commonly used by psychologically healthy people. Some mental health professionals believe\u00a0that introjection is a protective strategy that\u00a0children employ in order to cope with unavailable parents or guardians:\u00a0By\u00a0unconsciously absorbing the characteristics of parents, children reassure themselves that some aspect of the\u00a0parent is present even if the parent is\u00a0physically absent. Depending on the types of attitudes that are picked up, introjection may lead to positive or negative effects.<\/p>\n

Possible Positive Effects of Introjection<\/h2>\n

A person may introject positive traits and beliefs such as compassion, loyalty, morality, or a desire to help the poor. Introjection may also help an individual to cope with separation or even the loss<\/a> of loved ones. For example, exclamations that a daughter says something \u201cjust like her mother,\u201d following the death of the mother, may elicit vivid, happy memories. Introjection may also foster a sense of responsibility if an inexperienced youth\u00a0is determined to do things “just like Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Possible Negative Effects of Introjection<\/h2>\n

Introjections may also have negative connotations. A child\u00a0exposed to negative parenting may constantly feel worthless<\/a>, incompetent, or guilty<\/a>, feel unable to freely express emotion, and find it difficult to discover\u00a0identity<\/a> or a sense of self. With this obstacle to self-development in place, a\u00a0child may begin to lose confidence<\/a> and may also become self-critical.<\/p>\n

Introjection may lead individuals to pay an inordinate amount of attention to the beliefs of others rather than their\u00a0own personal needs.<\/span>Another negative effect of introjection is the internal conflict that\u00a0may arise from attempts to reconcile different or incongruous concepts. For example, a child who idolizes and copies the\u00a0\u201cideal\u201d father may experience inner turmoil upon discovery that the father was involved in criminal activity.\u00a0An individual\u00a0may also experience internal conflict if, deep down, that person does not\u00a0truly agree with the attitudes\u00a0adopted from other individuals.<\/p>\n

Introjection may lead individuals to pay an inordinate amount of attention to the beliefs of others rather than their\u00a0own personal needs. Some teenagers\u00a0may focus entirely on upholding parental beliefs and fulfilling expectations rather than making their own decisions about the future. A person in a relationship<\/a> may internalize the other partner’s comments about appearance and behavior and begin to act in that manner.<\/p>\n

Negative introjection can also be part of a cycle of abuse<\/a>. A person in an abusive relationship, for example, might begin to believe the claims of a partner who is abusive and internalize feelings of worthlessness or failure.\u00a0In some cases, the victim might introject the abuser\u2019s personality so strongly that\u00a0the victim then becomes an abuser. The support of a therapist or other mental health professional<\/a> may help mitigate the effects of abuse and prevent this from happening.<\/p>\n

Therapy for Negative Introjection<\/h2>\n

It is possible for a person to\u00a0overcome\u00a0negative internalizations with therapy.\u00a0Psychoanalysis<\/a> may be used to uncover and resolve deep-seated unconscious material, even when it has been buried since childhood. Therapists may also employ cognitive behavioral therapy<\/a>\u00a0to help people\u00a0analyze negative beliefs and gradually replace these beliefs with more realistic and accurate thoughts.<\/p>\n

Negative introjections may contribute to mental health conditions such as depression<\/a> and anxiety<\/a>. When this is the case, therapy may also be helpful in addressing and treating these conditions. With the help of a mental health professional, a person may often be able to address and resolve the effects that negative introjections have\u00a0had and develop strategies to avoid being further affected in the future.<\/p>\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Defense mechanism of the week: Introjection. (2012, January 19). Jennifer De Francisco<\/em>. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.jenniferdefrancisco.com\/defense-mechanisms\/defense-mechanism-of-the-week-introjection<\/li>\n
  2. Definition: Introjection. (n.d.). Purdue University<\/em>. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.cla.purdue.edu\/english\/theory\/psychoanalysis\/definitions\/introjection.html<\/li>\n
  3. Projection and introjection. (n.d.). ChangingMinds.org<\/em>. Retrieved from http:\/\/changingminds.org\/disciplines\/psychoanalysis\/concepts\/projection_introjection.htm<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Introjection,?one of many defense mechanisms posited by Sigmund Freud, occurs when a person internalizes the ideas or voices of other people. This behavior is?commonly associated with the internalization of external authority, particularly that of parents. What Is Introjection? Introjection is the opposite of projection. Projection occurs when a person projects feelings or characteristics onto another […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2474,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"psychpedia.php","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17241","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2474"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17241\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}