Introjection

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Under Introjection (from Latin intro =, enter ',' in 'and iacere = throw') is understood in psychology uptake and internalization unprocessed, usually aversive external realities, foreign ideas, motives , values and norms , etc. into its own I , which, in contrast to identification , represents a more immature , non-conformist mechanism that is deeply rooted in the ego structure and usually takes place in early childhood . The object in questionor the relevant object qualities are also referred to as introjects .

The term originally comes from psychoanalysis and describes a process that v. a. happens in infancy and in which an external reality (objects, object qualities), modeled on physical incorporation, enters the inner soul. Thus, introjection represents the second of the three internalization processes (after incorporation and before identification ) within psychoanalytic developmental psychology.

origin

The Hungarian psychoanalyst Sándor Ferenczi coined the term “introjection” as a symmetrical equivalent to the counter-process of projection (Ferenczi 1910). Accordingly, an unpleasant content can not only be excluded from the psychic by projection and transferred to external reality, but an external reality can also become an integral part of the psyche in the form of an "introject". For Ferenczi, introjection is first and foremost the essence of “object love”; In the exit from the originally assumed autoerotism or (primary) narcissism, an "I-expansion" takes place through the inclusion of external "objects":

“Basically, man can only love himself; if he loves an object, he takes it into his ego [...] Such growth, such inclusion of the beloved object in the ego I called introjection. "

- Ferenczi (1911)

Sigmund Freud adopted the term to explain the early development of the ego in contrast to the outside world:

"[...] the purified pleasure ego is formed through the introjection of everything that represents a source of pleasure, and through the projection of everything to the outside that gives the opportunity for discomfort."

- Freud: instincts and instinctual fates. 1915

In contrast, Ferenczi in 1932 also describes an introjection of the source of discomfort ( introjection of the attacker ) as an essential element of trauma .

General

Introjection is generally understood to be the process of absorbing values ​​and norms that someone internalizes in the course of personal development during their socialization . If these internalized duties neglected, man feels a guilt or shame , has a guilty conscience . Introjected norms and values ​​are entered passively in the course of development and without the child's own free decision, so they can deviate more or less from their own personality and, in extreme cases, are contrary to them. Introjection can thus be distinguished from internalization, in which norms and values ​​are actively taken up and integrated into the totality of the personality through assimilation .

Psychoanalysis

In the context of psychoanalytic theory formation, introjection represents a stage of internalization processes. Introjection is regarded as a preliminary stage of more mature identification , the precursor of which it is viewed. It comes from the oral phase . The preliminary stage of introjection is incorporation . Introjection, however, requires a more mature form of the ego than with incorporation, in which the differentiation between subject and object has not yet taken place. Their associated object representations are ambivalent. They are distorted by various libidinal, aggressive and narcissistic conflicts. This is particularly evident in projective identification . The child already recognizes the independent object reality, but not without ambivalences and fears. These are then fended off projectively. Projection represents the counterpart to introjection on the side of the externalization processes. Introjections - just like the incorporations before them - are necessary in the early childhood phase. But if they appear excessively in later life, they are an expression of a regressive process of distorted object perception. Introjective (and projective) mechanisms play an important role in depression and borderline disorder.

Introjection in Gestalt Therapy

The concept of “introjection” in Gestalt therapy is not identical to the psychoanalytic definition. Fritz and Laura Perls oppose assimilation to introjection. During assimilation, the organism (as the totality of body, mind and soul) transforms new things from the environment into its own, which it needs for self-preservation and growth. In doing so, the new is tested at the contact boundary of the organism with the environment, "destroyed" and transformed so that it can be assimilated. For this, positively understood aggression is necessary. Unusable material will not be accepted. Fritz and Laura Perls see this in analogy to “chewing” in the process of eating.

In the introjection, the new from the environment is absorbed into the organism as a whole without examination and transformation, since at the contact limit u. a. the awareness is lowered or completely absent. “Aggressive” destruction and checking to see what is useful for the organism and what is not does not take place. The resulting introject remains a foreign body in the organism. This process is understood to be analogous to sucking or swallowing when eating.

Instead of contact with the new, introjection is replaced by “ confluence ”. Confluence refers to a state at the limit of contact, in which awareness is reduced or completely absent, and / or in which the limit of contact itself is no longer present.

Introjection in trauma therapy

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The perpetrator project plays a major role in trauma therapy and is interpreted differently in different schools. (A more detailed and balanced overview is in progress).

See also

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: introjection  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stavros Mentzos : Neurotic Conflict Processing - Introduction to the psychoanalytic theory of neuroses, taking into account new perspectives. Fischer publishing house. Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 3-596-42239-6 , p. 42 ff.
  2. ^ Stefan Blankertz, Erhard Doubrawa: Lexicon of gestalt therapy. Peter Hammer Verlag, Wuppertal 2005, ISBN 3-7795-0018-3 , p. 165 ff.
  3. ↑ F. Perls: The I, the hunger and the aggression. (1944/1946). Stuttgart 1978, ISBN 3-12-906450-8 , p. 154 ff.
  4. ↑ F. Perls, R. Hefferline, P. Goodman: Gestalt therapy. Joie de vivre and personality development. (1951). Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-12-906800-7 , p. 244 ff.
  5. ↑ Jochen Peichl: Inner Critic, Persecutor and Destroyer: A practical handbook for working with perpetrator introjects. Klett-Cotta Verlag, 5th edition, 2019, ISBN 3-608-89136-6 .
  6. ↑ Jochen Peichl: Inner children, perpetrators, helpers & Co: Ego-state therapy of the traumatized self. Klett-Cotta Verlag, 6th edition, 2017, ISBN 978-3-608-89223-9 .
  7. ^ Jochen Peichl: The inner trauma landscapes: borderline - ego state - perpetrator introject. Schattauer Verlag, 2nd edition, 2012, ISBN 978-3-7945-2935-3 (reading excerpt, chapter 13.3 The introject and the model of the structural analysis of social behavior, PDF, 7 pages, 232 kB) .