Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Incorporated unconsciously into your own psyche: Refers to an attitude, idea, or belief that has been taken in from an external source (often another person) and accepted as one's own without conscious awareness or critical examination.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The therapist helped her identify the introjected values from her strict upbringing that were causing her anxiety.
  • His fear of failure was not his own but an introjected belief from his critical father.

Advanced Usage

• Psychological Context: The term is primarily used in psychology, particularly in psychoanalytic and psychodynamic theories. It describes a specific defense mechanism where external standards or attributes are internalized.
  • In object relations theory, introjected objects form part of the internal world.

Variants and Related Words

• Introject (verb): To unconsciously incorporate attitudes or ideas into one's own psyche.
  • Children often introject the beliefs of their parents.
• Introjection (noun): The psychological process of introjecting.
  • Introjection is a common process in early childhood development.

Synonyms

• Internalized: Taken in and made part of one's own attitudes or beliefs.
• Incorporated: Combined or absorbed into a larger entity.

Antonyms

• Rejected: Refused to accept or consider.
• Externalized: Attributed to outside causes; projected outward.

Related Phrases

• Introjected object: In psychology, a mental representation of another person (or part of a person) that has been internalized.
  • The concept of the introjected object is key to understanding certain relationship patterns.

Adjective

1. incorporated unconsciously into your own psyche