In the article we will talk about introjection as a protective mechanism of the human psyche. We will get acquainted with this psychological term, and also try to understand its fundamental bases and impact on the life of each individual. This phenomenon is quite common, and its consequences may not be so rosy.
What is it about?
So, introjection is a way of psychological defense of a person, which is activated on an unconscious level. The word itself came from two Latin roots, which mean "inside" and "put". In other words, we can say that introjection is a process during which a person transfers various images of subjective space into his unconscious. It absorbs various patterns, judgments, estimates, etc., which are completely devoid of any kind of objectivity, because they belong to certain people.
Interestingly, this term was introduced into psychoanalysis in 1909. He made this one of the little-known, but talented followers of the great Sigmund Freud, Sandor Ferenczi - a psychoanalyst of Hungarian origin.
Research in this area
Freud himself did not consider it necessary to distinguish between such concepts as identification and introjection. He attached great importance to the second mechanism, because he considered it very important. His concept of identification later became the basis for understanding the study of Stockholm syndrome.
After some time, researchers thought that introjection is a very old archaic model of unconscious human behavior. At the same time, Freud considered this phenomenon as the basis for the formation of the Oedipus complex, which consists in the boy’s desire to own his mother and get rid of his rival father. Freud associated this with the identification of the child with his mother and the transfer of her image into his unconscious.
Let's take a closer look
So, introjection in psychology is a scenario of behavioral protection. This phenomenon is very closely intertwined with the relationships between individuals. As we know, for the growth of personality, it is necessary to draw boundaries between themselves and others within reasonable limits.
Everything accepted by a person from the external environment will be effective for her only if she survives it, somehow works out and thinks about it. If the outside world is accepted indiscriminately, then it will remain unnoticed by consciousness, nevertheless it will be a psychological parasite.
At present, it is believed that introjection is the simplest form of identification, but, unlike the last process, it is not recognized by a person. And speaking more briefly and clearly, today it is believed that this process consists in the fact that a person perceives some external phenomena and events as his own.
Adaptive function
The process in question has a great influence on the formation of a person’s personality, his concepts of morality, attachment, etc. The dependence is especially pronounced in childhood. At this age, children resemble sponges, because they absorb some norms, prejudices, behavioral scenarios, reactions, etc. They adopt them from people who are important and significant to them. The most interesting thing is that such a reaction occurs even before a person decides to consciously be like or not to be like his loved ones.
Protective role
It is impossible to imagine the psychological protection of a person and the mechanisms of psychological protection without introjection. The fact is that it is thanks to introjection that a completely small child can consider himself strong and powerful, despite the fact that in fact he is physically weak.
This becomes possible as a result of the fact that he transfers to himself some qualities of a character trait of important adults for him. Sometimes this way of protecting a person can persist even when he grows up. In this case, in difficult situations or situations of addiction and conflict, such a person feels that he has a defender. However, in most people, introjection turns into identification.
Destructive influence
The fact is that introjection in psychology is not only a positive experience, but also a negative one. Any psychological defense somewhat distorts the perception of reality. The fact is that a person begins to feel the external as something internal.
This is dangerous because when something changes in the external environment, a person can perceive it as a loss of something internal, some qualities, values, points of support. As a result, this is what can lead to depression. A man is trying to remain holistic inside, while he believes that he has really lost something, trying either to blame himself for this, or to look for reasons. In any case, this greatly complicates his life and sometimes forces him to turn to professionals.
Introjection: Examples
We will tell you about cases when you can see the manifestation of this process in real life. A very striking example is the case when we say that a man owes or a woman owes. To some extent, such ideas are inherent in every person, but they greatly limit relations.
Most often, it is precisely these kinds of attitudes that prevent you from starting relationships, building them normally, solving difficulties and conflicts, etc. The fact is that, entering into relationships, a person at some stage simply relaxes and starts acting automatically. He trusts his loved one so much that he believes that he can be completely open with him. It is then that the reactions of introjection begin to manifest. For no reason, the partner may begin to react strangely to some ordinary things. If the couple has a good relationship, then this can be discussed and revealed that the person himself does not know why he did it anyway. If you dig even deeper, it turns out that he has some beliefs, based on which he acts, without even realizing it.
It is interesting
Introjection is a concept that is best seen in the examples that we have done above. Now that we understand the nature of this process, it is necessary to talk about how dangerous it is. The fact is that this process is an example of how some information enters into us completely unconsciously and uncontrollably. And after that we act according to the received data and only after that we try to find the logic in our decisions.
It is interesting that introjection is equally inherent in neurotics and healthy people, so absolutely everyone is faced with such a phenomenon from birth. The creator of the term "introjection" believed that this mechanism causes neurotic conflicts and other psychological processes.
As a result, this can lead to neurosis, which quite often happens in a person’s usual life. The fact is that neurotics are just characterized by such blurred boundaries between their own "I" and the outside world. They very often look for some external object in order to absorb it with their inner world and thus expand the boundaries, equate themselves with this object.
In gestalt, such reactions imply a process when some results of thinking or evaluation are accepted by a person as if uncensored. Scientists have identified three phases of introjection:
- Complete.
- Partial
- Assimilation.
Full introjection in the baby. Partial is formed in a child who already observes and partially understands the outside world. The assimilation phase can begin both in childhood and in adulthood. It is characterized by the fact that a person's boundaries between him and a stranger are blurred.
The victims
An unconscious psychological process can lead to a person becoming a victim. In fact, introjection is inherent in us at any age, so even an adult should pay more attention to this.
It manifests itself in the fact that we merge with various images that appear in our psyche. It is believed that all images are placed in the super-ego of a person, that is, in his unconscious structure. This structure of images is replenished at about the age of 2 to 12 years, when a person begins to understand what is good, what is bad, what is possible, what is impossible, begins to distinguish between his figure and that of his parents.
If in childhood some kind of introject was formed in the super-ego, then getting rid of it is not easy. And the earlier the installation appeared, the more difficult it is to separate it from oneself. Moreover, both sides suffer from the negative effects of this phenomenon. One person makes demands on the other and is disappointed, while the second one feels anger and resentment, because he cannot meet these characteristics. As a matter of fact, he should not correspond to them.
In society
People prone to introjection are distinguished by the fact that they immediately want to enter into interaction, open their souls, share everything. In fact, all their contacts are quite superficial, because the true closeness to them is incomprehensible and unknown. They rarely get to this stage unless they sort out their internal problems.
It also happens that people who do not know how to set boundaries between themselves and others suffer from sexual illegibility. They have too many partners, they cannot stop. They try to quickly interact with the person and after the merger immediately begin to look for another image, so as not to recognize the person and not to be disappointed.
Some people are accustomed to such a feature of their psyche and do not even want to understand, because it helps to avoid responsibility. In other words, you can blame everything on some external circumstances, other people. Such a person constantly claims that traditions, the country, other people, his friends, parents, etc. are to blame. The worst thing is that he does not even realize that such his behavior is simply the work of a certain mechanism, and not his personality. And the mechanism can be customized if desired. To do this, just listen to your heart, no matter how surprisingly simple this advice may seem.